


Dark is the Way; Light is the Place

by RationalCashew



Category: The X-Files
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2020-05-28 05:11:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 39,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19387183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RationalCashew/pseuds/RationalCashew
Summary: Mulder doesn't go to Oregon during "Requiem.” Canon divergence (obvs). MSR.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CodenamePegasus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CodenamePegasus/gifts).



> Pegasus, my darling,
> 
> I hope you enjoy the first installment of your prompt. I apologize that I can't get it all up all at once (full-time job & full-time university) but I will get it uploaded as quickly as I possibly can! I hope this is, at least, SORT OF what you were going for!
> 
> \-- Cate/RationalCashew

Mulder’s leg bounced anxiously as he waited to board his flight to Oregon. Something just did not feel right about this. Even Scully had had her doubts. Although, truth be told, that wasn’t anything new; she was a skeptic by nature.

Still…

“Would you _relax_?” Skinner barked from beside him, causing Mulder to jump embarrassingly.

“Sorry,” he grumbled.

Skinner exhaled a sigh.

“What is it, Mulder?” There was a bit of frustration and irritation undeniably present in his boss’s voice. “If _you’re_ having doubts-.”

“Are _you_?” Mulder countered in surprise. Skinner didn’t say anything but the look on his face was enough. “It’s too… _easy_.”

“Yeah, I noticed that.”

“And, it’s Krycek.”

Skinner exhaled and said, “What does Scully think?”

Mulder sighed. “She’s… concerned.”

His mind drifted to their conversation in the hall of the Hoover building the night before. She’d told him, repeatedly, that she didn’t like the idea of his return to Oregon.

_“Mulder,” Scully had said, her forehead still pressed to his as she stood in his arms; neither one of them caring much about whether or not they would be seen._

_“I know,” he replied, attempting to sound more decisive and sure about the situation than he actually felt. “I’ll take–.”_

_“Don’t you dare say Krycek,” she warned, causing him to laugh. She knew him too well._

_“What about the boys?”_

_“You can’t take the Gunmen into the field, Mulder; you’ll all end up hurt,” she deadpanned._

_“Skinner,” he replied. “I’ll take Skinner.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and added, “Why don’t you go home and relax? I’ll be there as soon as I can.”_

_Scully frowned and arched an eyebrow, silently telling him that there was no way in hell she was going anywhere without him just so that he could ditch her and hop a red-eye flight. Even Mulder had to admit that she knew him better than that._

“So, how do you want to play this?” Skinner asked, bringing his brain back to the airport.

The question took Mulder off-guard given that his boss was the one asking. He hesitated before giving his answer. On the one hand, if the information turned out to be true, it was everything he could’ve possibly hoped to find — more, if he actually found the ship. On the other hand, despite the semi-confirmation by the Gunmen, this _was_ Krycek presenting the information. There was also the moment he shared with Scully in the hall.

Mulder’s mind replayed the scene. Aside from the fact that he’d been in love with Scully since God only knew when, there was also the concern for her health and the nature of everything that had happened to her in the last several years. He couldn’t risk her being abducted again. He wouldn’t.

Scully, in turn, seemed to fear the same thing – or, something similar. He’d been surprised when she conceded to stay behind. Although, he should have known that she would try to talk him out of going.

Finally, Mulder sighed and said, “Let’s just… let’s get there and see if it’s worth looking into. If it’s not, we come back.”

Skinner seemed to mull it over for a moment before nodding his agreement.

The flight from Dulles to O’Hare for their layover did nothing to ease Mulder’s apprehension. In fact, it seemed that the closer they got to Oregon, the more uncomfortable he became with the idea as a whole. He couldn’t get Scully’s voice out of his head.

_I know the Gunmen have their data, but… but, Mulder, this is Krycek we’re dealing with._

Scully hadn’t been wrong. Dealing with Krycek was never a simple task. Nor was it something that should be done lightly.

Mulder knew that. He did.

“Mulder,” Skinner groaned in the same groan he always had just before accusing his agent of giving him a migraine.

“What?”

“If you’re going to be like this the entire time, I’m going to send you home on principle,” his boss deadpanned.

Mulder’s eyes narrowed. “Be like what?”

“You’re… jittery. It’s making me anxious. Calm down.”

“Sorry,” Mulder mumbled in return. His anxiety didn’t let up as they landed in Chicago.

Walking into O’Hare, Skinner must have sensed Mulder getting worked up again, because he exhaled loudly enough to get Mulder’s attention and said in exasperation, “Why don’t you just call her?”

Mulder feigned ignorance, only blinking in response, but Skinner only glared.

“I’m not an idiot, Agent Mulder, and I don’t like being treated like one.”

Mulder swallowed audibly and nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

“Flight’s in two hours,” Skinner said, checking his watch. “I’m going to get coffee. Call Scully.” Turning around he grumbled, “Maybe, _she_ can calm your ass down.”

Mulder made a face behind Skinner’s back and a child walked by giggled. Mulder couldn’t help but smirk as he pulled out his cell phone.

“Agent Scully’s phone?” a tentative voice that _definitely_ did not belong to Scully answered.

“Byers? Why the hell are you answering Scully’s phone?” Confusion became anxiety in an instant. 

“Oh, thank God!” Byers said, sounding relieved. The tone of the other man’s voice did nothing to ease the knot that had formed in Mulder’s stomach. “Yes, it’s him. Sorry, Mul— _yes_ , I’m going to tell him!”

“Tell me what?”

“Do you want to do it?” Byers demanded.

Mulder grit his teeth as he listened to Byers argue with, who sounded like, Langly.

“ _Byers_!” He barked. Through gritted teeth, he continued, “Where…is…Scully?” 

“Agent Scully is in the hospital,” he squeaked out.

Mulder’s heart plummeted. He could hear the blood ringing in his ears and the air seemed to grow thin around him.

“What happened?” He choked out.

“We don’t know. She’s with the doctor right—hush! I can’t hear him! Yes, I’m going to tell him that!”

“Byers!”

“Sorry. She collapsed while we were looking at some data. We’re at the hospital with her – in the waiting room, but they won’t tell us anything.”

“I’m on my way.” Mulder disconnected the call before anyone could protest and frantically searched the crowd from Skinner. He practically sprinted to the man when he saw him walking toward him.

Skinner caught sight of Mulder and his eyebrows knitted together.

“What is it, Mulder?”

“Scully,” was all he could manage to get out of his mouth. Mulder exhaled a deep breath and helplessly added, “She collapsed.”

A concerned look took up residence on his boss’s face. Skinner seemed to be thinking all or most of the same scenarios that Mulder was. 

“Go.”

It was all the approval Mulder needed before he was sprinting to the nearest ticket counter.

The flight on which Mulder barely managed to get seemed to take twice as long as he knew it was. It wasn’t long before he was hailing a taxi and imploring the cabbie to drive faster, having half a mind to flash his badge and commandeer the vehicle.

After getting to the hospital, he was threatened with being forcibly removed from the premises more than once before finally getting Scully’s location.

Mulder heard the Gunmen arguing long before he saw them, letting him know he was in the right place. Langly spotted him first.

“How is she?” Mulder asked in lieu of greeting.

“They won’t tell us anything except that she’s okay,” Langly said.

“Can I see her?”

“They won’t let us, but you could probably get away with it if you flash your badge,” Frohike replied.

“HIPAA,” came Byers’s deadpanned contribution to the conversation. Frohike frowned. Byers, however, faced Mulder. “We tried to call you.”

“Left several messages, too,” Langly added.

A doctor coming out to the waiting area got Mulder’s attention.

“I’m looking for Dana Scully,” Mulder said, nearly rushing the man.

The doctor looked at the chart in his hands. “And, you are?”

“Fox Mulder. I’m her… partner.”

The doctor gave him a look that damn near made Mulder threaten him. He must’ve sensed it because he sighed.

“Have a seat. I’ll see what I can do.”

Mulder nodded, but paced the waiting room instead.

A few minutes later, the doctor returned.

“Mr. Mulder?” Mulder looked up. “You can see her. I’ll take you back.”

The Gunmen rose as if to follow them.

“ _Only_ Mr. Mulder.”

“Tell her ‘hi’ for us?” Byers requested.

“Yeah,” Mulder replied before disappearing behind the door.

A couple of hallways later, he saw her lying on one of the beds with an IV attached to her arm.

“Hey,” he greeted sheepishly as he made his way to the bed.

“Mulder? What… what are you doing here?”

“The boys called,” he replied, placing a kiss to her cheek before sitting on the edge of the bed. “They said you collapsed. Are you okay? What happened?”

“I’m fine,” she replied. “They’re keeping me overnight just to be sure.”

“The IV…?”

“Just fluids. I was dehydrated, but I’m fine.” Mulder watched, confused, as Scully visibly fought back a smile.

“Don’t make me beg,” he said, not sure whether or not he should be smiling, too.

“I, um…” she cleared her throat and sat up a little more, making Mulder nervous. “They ran some tests and…” she chuckled in what seemed like disbelief to him before continuing, “I made them run them again but, um…”

There weren’t enough letters in the alphabet to form the right words to describe the look on her face and in her eyes, Mulder decided when her gaze finally met his. He could only cock his head slightly.

“I’m pregnant,” she said in what could only be interpreted as disbelief.

Relief flooded over him in an instant as he let out a relieved, “Thank God!” He pressed a kiss to her lips and sat back, her words sinking in far too slowly. “I was so—wait. What?”

She laughed and repeated herself, “I’m pregnant.”

“You’re… we’re… a baby?” He said, speaking only the words his brain could form as it formed them.

“Yeah,” she replied barely above a whisper.

As though it had a mind of its own, his hand reached out to cover her flat stomach. Her eyes, however, never left him; her smile didn’t wane.

“You okay over there?” She asked, after allowing him his moment. Her voice jolted him back into the room.

“Yeah,” he said, awkwardly removing his hand from her body. He let out a breath that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. In disbelief he said, “We’re having a baby.”

Scully chuckled. “Yeah. We are.” She paused before asking, “Are you okay with that?”

His eyes met hers and he was determined to put an end to any doubts she had.

“Yeah,” he replied with a smile that felt like every muscle in his face was being used; a smile so wide that it made his face hurt. He pressed a kiss to her lips. Her hand cupped his face for a moment, before they pulled apart. Mulder rested his head against hers. “We got our miracle.”

She chuckled in response and said, “Yeah.”

“Do we have a name? Is it a boy or girl? Or, do we want to know?”

Scully laughed. “I only found out two hours ago!” Mulder nodded awkwardly as she continued, “I spent more time thinking about how to tell _you_ than I did thinking about anything else.”

“I’m assuming we don’t know whether we’re having a boy or a girl, then...?”

Scully chuckled. “It’s too early to tell.”

“Right,” he replied, making a mental note to buy every baby book Barnes and Noble had to offer. After a moment, he asked, “Everything’s okay, though? You and the baby? You’re fine?”

Scully smiled a smile that he had never seen, one that he probably _wouldn’t_ have ever seen if not for their child.

“We’re okay,” she replied.

They sat in a shared stunned silence for a moment before Scully spoke up again. “I don’t know how to begin to explain this, Mulder,” she confessed. “I made them run the tests twice just to be sure.”

“I don’t think it matters,” he replied, matter-of-factly. Her eyebrows furrowed and he couldn’t help but grin a little grin, “We still got our miracle, didn’t we?”

Scully huffed out a laugh and nodded. “You’re right.”

“Can I get that in writing?” Scully arched an eyebrow and Mulder chuckled. “Worth a shot.”

“We’re going to have to tell Skinner,” she said suddenly.

Mulder chuffed out a laugh. “We’re going to have to tell _your mother_.”

“She’ll be happy for us.”

“I still find Skinner to be less intimidating.” Scully rolled her eyes and he added, “I’m just saying: your very Catholic mother is about to find out that she’s getting a grandchild from her unwed daughter and atheist partner. It’s a little much, I’d think.”

Scully smirked. “You don’t want to be there when I tell her, do you?”

“Team approach? You tell your mom and I’ll tell Skinner?”

“It’d probably go over better the other way around,” she retorted. Mulder must have made a face because she laughed and elaborated, “My mother _loves_ you and Skinner likes me better.”

“Skinner just likes you.”

“Mulder...” she groaned.

Mulder threw his hands up defensively. “I’m just saying...”

When the doctor finally kicked him out – after quite the protest on Mulder’s part – Mulder returned to the waiting to find the Gunmen were still there. They rose, each one looking exhausted but concerned. He had no idea they’d stuck around after he’d gone in. Although, he guessed, he should’ve known they would wait until they heard from a trusted source that she was going to be okay.

“How is she?” Byers asked, getting a glare from Frohike for, Mulder presumed, beating him to asking first.

Mulder couldn’t stop the grin from forming on his face. “She’s fine.”

“What’d the doctor say?” Frohike inquired.

“And, why are you smiling like an idiot?” Langly added, earning a glare from the other two Gunmen. “Well, he is...”

Mulder hesitated, earning a whack to the arm from Frohike.

“I’m not sure if she wants anyone to know, yet,” he confessed, realizing that he hadn’t actually gotten permission to drop the news.

The Gunmen glared at him and he realized the idiot smile was back on his face. To hell with it.

“We’re, uh...” He couldn’t help but chuckle. “We’re having a baby. Scully’s pregnant.”

That earned him stunned faces followed shortly by congratulations.

“And, we’re sure it’s _yours_?” Frohike asked, clearly only half-joking. The other three men shot him the same look and his hands flew up defensively. “I’m just saying she can do better.”

“Look at that,” Langly said, pinching Mulder’s cheek. “Our baby boy’s all grown up.”

Mulder slapped away his hand, but couldn’t stop himself from laughing. Langly wasn’t wrong, if he was being honest. Mulder hadn’t really considered the idea of being a father until Scully had asked him for his “help” with IVF. Since then, he wanted that for her; wanted to give that to her.

Holy shit.

He was going to be a father.


	2. Chapter 2

Scully could feel Mulder watching her from the other side of the desk. He’d been doing it for the last week. At first, she thought it was sweet. Now, it was just annoying.

“Mulder…” she warned, cocking an eyebrow at him from over the file in her hand.

“What?” He asked innocently.

“You’re staring.”

“We’re having a baby,” he replied simply.

“Yes, we are. But, that doesn’t mean I can work with you staring at me constantly. You’re making me anxious.”

“Sorry,” he muttered, forcibly diverting his gaze elsewhere in the office.

Scully exhaled a sigh and set the file on the desk. Mulder’s gaze met hers and she reached out to cover his hand with her own.

“I appreciate the concern, I really do,” she began, “but--.”

“But, it’s overbearing, probably creepy, and I need to dial it back?”

Scully smirked. “Exactly.”

“Sorry,” he sighed. “It’s just… it’s just that we’re gonna have kid, Scully. _Us_. I’m still wrapping my head around it.”

She chuckled and replied, “Believe me, I know. Try finding out you’re pregnant after being told you can’t be.” Mulder’s face softened a bit. “But, Mulder, it’s been two weeks since we found out. How many cases have we had?”

“Point taken.”

“Is it?” She retorted. He met her gaze again and sighed. “Mulder, we have to start taking cases. Soon.”

“I know; I know. I’m just…”

When he didn’t continue, she did it for him. “You’re being protective. I appreciate it, but it’s not necessary.” Scully felt the corners of her mouth twitch into a grin. “I’m pregnant, not incapacitated.”

“I-I know that,” he replied, dumbfounded.

“Do you?” She challenged.

He sighed. “I just don’t want anything to happen to either of you.”

Scully couldn’t help but to soften at his confession.

“I know. I appreciate it, but this is exactly what I didn’t want, Mulder; being treated like glass. If it’s too much, I’ll tell you but, until then, I need you to trust my judgment; trust that it’ll be fine.”

“I do, Scully. I _do_ trust your judgement.”

“Good,” she replied, rising from her seat. She walked around the desk as she added, with an air of authority about her, “Pick a case. I have to get home and get ready for dinner with my mother.” She planted a quick peck on his lips.

Scully didn’t need to tell him that she was serious about picking a case. He could see it in her eyes.

* * *

Mulder glanced up from his spot on the couch can as the door to his apartment opened and Scully walked through it, shutting and locking it behind her.

“Hey,” he greeted, muting the TV and sitting up. “How’d it go with your mom? Should I be worried about hitmen?”

Scully chuffed a laugh. “She’s thrilled and knew that you’re the father before I said anything, you don’t have to worry about hitmen — to my knowledge, anyway — and, you’re not allowed to chicken out on Sunday.”

“That’s a lot of things directed at me,” Mulder retorted with a frown. “What’s Sunday?”

“Dinner with my mother,” Scully deadpanned and flopped beside him on the surprisingly squishy leather couch. “We still have to submit the paperwork to HR.”

There was something about the way she said it that caused Mulder to drape his arm around the back of couch and meet her gaze, attempting to douse the fire of worry before it was more than merely proverbial embers.

“Scully, we’re going to be fine where the FBI is concerned.”

“What if they separate us?” She asked quietly.

“You know as well as I do that, although frowned upon, it’s not against the rules for us to be in a relationship. Neither one of us holds the rank of ASAC or higher. We both report to Skinner and, let’s face it, he loves us— _you_. He loves you. He tolerates me.”

Scully couldn’t help but to chuckle. “He does more than tolerate you, Mulder. Besides, I think having a baby together makes it a little more complicated than just a relationship.”

Mulder chuckled and said, “My point is that you don’t have anything to worry about. Okay? We’ll be fine.” He grinned proudly and said, “I even picked a case today.”

“Good. I was bored enough that I was starting to consider transferring back to the Academy just to have something to do.”

The joke didn’t land as Mulder felt his expression grow serious.

“You could, you know...”

“I could what?”

“Teach.”

“What are you talking about?” She groaned.

“Teaching isn’t dangerous as long as you don’t fail the wrong new agent in training. You could still help me with cases, too. Just… from the safer side of the desk.”

Scully’s eyes narrowed. “Mulder… no.”

“What?”

“I know what you’re doing, it won’t work and I was _joking_.”

“What am I doing?” He asked innocently. Scully frowned and rolled her eyes. “What?”

“Mulder, I am not going to transfer to the Academy just because I’m pregnant!” There was an exasperation to her voice that had Mulder quite tempted to joke about hormones. However, assuming that his life depended on it, he refrained.

“I didn’t mean it like _that_ ,” he sighed. “I just… Given the way the last seven years have gone for us, it just feels like tempting fate.”

Her eyes softened just a bit. “If it gets to be too much, I will talk to Skinner about a _temporary_ assignment to the Academy, okay?”

“You mean like working with me was supposed to be temporary?”

Scully frowned. “Don’t push it.”

Mulder fought a grin and simply nodded his response before leaning back into the couch as Scully cuddled into him.

“Besides,” she added with a hint of playfulness to her tone. “This ‘temporary assignment’ ended well.”

Mulder laughed and pulled her tighter to himself. “That, it did.”

* * *

The bed dipped as Mulder climbed in beside Scully. The pregnancy had left her far more exhausted by the time she went to bed — lately, a solid hour before he did — than she normally would be.

For Mulder, the pregnancy had seemed to kick his already horrible case of insomnia into overdrive. He’d lie awake thinking about all the things that could go horribly wrong with the pregnancy. He wasn’t a hundred percent sure what some of the terms in the books meant, but he could tell by the context that they weren’t good.

Especially, the stress. He’d tried to keep Scully out of the field to avoid any kind of unnecessary stress to her body. But, it only made her mad at him. Mulder supposed he could talk to Skinner about getting her assigned to teaching or a lab for awhile, but she’d know and probably kick his ass. Or, shoot him again. Either way, it’s was only partially worth incurring her wrath.

Maybe, he could bring it up to Maggie. Maggie might be able to talk Scully into getting out of the field.

It wasn’t like he didn’t want her there, right by his side, doing this thing; he did. Mulder didn’t want to risk anything happening to his family. Since when was that a _bad_ thing?

His family.

He wasn’t just going to be a father. In a few short months, Fox Mulder was going to have a family.

“Holy shit,” he whispered to himself.

He looked over to Scully who had crashed almost as soon as her head hit the pillow and was snoring softly right beside him.

They were a family. Not just the two of them. The two of them _and_ their baby.

 _Mulder, party of three_.

That’s what would be said when they went places.

He rolled over to watch Scully as she slept, lightly brushing the errant strands of hair from covering her face. Mulder couldn’t help but smile as he silently made his decision: he was going to propose. The decision was final.

He just had to figure out how and when.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone says anything about it, lol: one of my biggest pet peeves regarding this show is the "they can't be together because FBI." That is not a real thing (the exception being one person outranks the other -- agents can't date ASACs, etc.). I met a married agent couple (MAC) last summer and had a lengthy conversation with them about it (really, they were troopers, lol). As long as the couple submits the paperwork to HR, they're fine.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any typos. This is the first time I’ve ever uploaded from my phone. I’ll read through it and try to edit any autocorrect typos and such.

For reasons unknown to him, Mulder’s heart thudded in his chest as he and Scully awaited the opening of Maggie’s front door. For her part, Scully seemed completely calm and collected. He had no idea why.

Maybe, it was because she had already had the hard conversation with her mother. He, on the other hand, had yet to face Maggie Scully since finding out he was going to be a father. Maybe, she was just better at hiding her apprehension.

There really was no telling, he concluded.

“Would you relax?” Scully whispered in a slightly harsher than necessary tone.

“Sorry,” he mumbled and exhaled a deep breath. Scully took his hand.

“My mom loves you, Mulder. You’re going to be fine.”

“You say that now but don’t forget that I’m the one who got her unmarried daughter pregnant.”

Scully smirked. “Believe me, she would much rather that person was you than anyone else. I can promise you that.”

“If you say so…”

“I do say so. Mulder, why are you panicking? It’s not like you’re meeting her for the first time. Relax.”

If he had a dollar for every time he’d heard that word in the last two-ish weeks…

The door opened, pulling him from his reverie. Maggie Scully stood on the other side, smiling.

“Dana. Fox,” she greeted, hugging each of them before stepping aside to allow them entry to the house. Maggie faced him. “I believe congratulations are in order.”

Mulder couldn’t stop himself from beaming. “Thanks,” he replied sheepishly.

“Smells good, Mom,” Scully said, hanging her jacket on the coat rack.

Maggie smirked at him but replied, “Pot roast. Should be ready in just a few minutes.”

He followed Maggie into the kitchen while his Scully ran to the restroom. Part of Mulder felt like he should’ve followed her. She hadn’t exactly had morning sickness in the traditional sense.

“Is it normal for her to get sick this late in the day?” He asked, causing Maggie to smirk.

“Morning sickness doesn’t always hit in the morning,” she replied patiently. “When I was pregnant with my kids, I was sick at different points of the day. Bill was the only one who actually made me sick in the morning. With Melissa, I was sick in the evening. With Dana, I was sick all day. Charlie was the only one that didn’t make me sick at all.”

Mulder nodded, not quite sure which of those scenarios he needed to prepare himself to face. Clearly, the not getting sick option was out of the question. He hadn’t noticed Scully mentioning not feeling well beyond the usual point in the evening.

They probably should’ve come for lunch.

“Fox, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I was… this is normal?”

Maggie smiled a soft, nurturing smile. “She’ll be fine in a few weeks, Fox. It goes away after the first trimester.”

He nodded, processing the information.

“How are you doing with this?” She added.

“I am…” he paused briefly before confessing, “so many things about this and I’m not quite sure how to put any of it into words.” He let out a sigh.

“You’re going to be fine, Fox,” she replied, handing him a stack of plates and some silverware.

Mulder began to set the table.

“I’m trying to talk her into transferring back to teaching,” he blurted.

“How’s that going?” Maggie asked in a knowing tone.

“It’s not.”

She chuckled. “There never was any making Dana do whatever she didn’t want to do.”

Mulder could only chuckle in response.

“What’s so funny?” Scully asked, joining them.

“Nothing,” Mulder replied.

* * *

Dinner went over far better than Mulder had anticipated. That wasn’t to say that Maggie didn’t have her share of questions: where will they live? Are they going to get married? What will happen with their jobs?

And, of course, there was the unsolicited advice: make time for each other; make sure to register for this and that. Plenty of other things that he didn’t understand and hadn’t yet been covered in the books he was reading.

Calling the evening awkward would’ve been an understatement, but Maggie neither poisoned him nor hired a hitman so, he really couldn’t complain.

By the time they got back to Scully’s apartment, they were completely drained.

Mulder dropped on the couch and Scully, although a little more gracefully, dropped beside him.

“That was…” he began.

“Intense?”

“To put it mildly.”

Scully chuckled. “You should’ve seen her the day I told her about the baby.”

Mulder chuffed out a laugh.

They sat in silence for a moment before he changed the subject.

“How are you feeling?” He asked softly.

“Ask me in about an hour,” she retorted with a smirk.

“Your mom mentioned morning sickness could happen at night. Which begs the question: who decided to call it morning sickness when it can happen at any point in the day?”

“A lying bastard,” she deadpanned, causing Mulder to laugh.

After a moment, he said, “Your mom had a point, though.”

“About what?”

“Where we’ll live.” Scully met his gaze with a look that told him to elaborate. “My place only has the one bedroom and it’s a little small—especially, when the baby starts being mobile. Yours has two which, I guess, will work for awhile but—.”

“Are you suggesting that we move in together?” She interjected before the rambling could start.

“When you say it like that, it sounds like a bad thing…”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that. You took my by surprise.”

“What do you think?”

“It’s a big step…”

Mulder chuffed a laugh. “And, having a baby isn’t?” Scully frowned. “We still have time to figure it out, but…” he exhaled. “Scully, I don’t want to be some weekend parent. I want to be around. For everything.”

Her face softened and she took his hand in hers. “I know you do. I want that, too. It’s just a lot to absorb.”

“Just think about, okay?” She nodded her agreement and he placed a kiss to her temple before returning his gaze to the television.


	4. Chapter 4

The Gunmen crowded around the small box in Mulder’s hand.

“Congratulations,” Byers said, slapping him on the arm for emphasis simultaneously with Frohike’s “she’ll love it.”

“You think?” he asked.

“I do,” Frohike replied and quickly added, “No pun intended.”

“Now, I just have to get her to say ‘yes’,” Mulder said, snapping the velvet box shut and returning it to the security of his jacket pocket.

“Why wouldn’t she?” Langly asked. “You already got her pregnant.”

Mulder frowned, but his friends only smirked.

“Her family likes you, right?” Frohike asked.

“Most of them.” Mulder paused. “Well, actually, her mom likes me. Her sister liked me when she was alive. I never met her dad and I haven't her younger brother, but her older brother hates me.”

“By that math, only a third of her family likes you,” Frohike deadpanned.

“But,” Byers interjected, “ _she_ loves you. That’s what matters.”

“Yeah…” Mulder sighed.

“How ya gonna do it?” Langly asked.

“I don’t know, yet.”

“Might I suggest —.”

“No,” the other two Gunmen responded. Langly frowned.

“If he takes _your_ advice, she won’t just say ‘no’, she’ll run for the hills,” Frohike retorted. “The goal is to get Scully to marry him, not have him committed.”

“My ideas aren't _that_ bad!”

“Your ideas are terrible.”

Mulder chuckled as he watched his friends. At least, they were supportive of his life-altering decision.

“Mulder!” Langly said, at some point, ripping Mulder from his reverie.

“Huh?”

“You staying for the campaign or…?”

He glanced down to the table to find beers in place and what looked like the set up for a pretty intense game of Dungeons & Dragons. Although tempted, he silently asked himself if a responsible father would spend the rest of the day playing D&D.

Yes, he concluded. A responsible father would certainly make some time to hang out with his friends. That would teach his child… something.

Right?

* * *

Scully glanced at the clock. Mulder had called earlier to let he would be coming back late. However, he didn’t say it would be five hours late. Thinking about it, she made her way to the kitchen to prepare some tea for herself.

Maybe, he’d just gone back to his apartment without telling her. Although it was disappointing, it was certainly okay. It wasn’t like they were married or had made any actual decision on moving in together. Yet, they’d spent nearly every night together since finding out about the baby.

The tea kettle whistled as she was deciding he probably just needed a break and had decided to sleep at home. If she didn’t hear from him by the time she finished her tea, she’d call him to be sure and then go to bed.

As if on cue, Mulder barreled into her apartment, startling her.

“I was beginning to give up on you,” she joked as he made his way to her with a stupid grin on his face. She couldn’t help but grin back.

“I’m glad you didn’t,” he replied. As he closed in on her, she caught the stench of alcohol protruding from him. “You’re pretty,” he said.

“You’re drunk,” she retorted.

He pursed his lips together as though thinking about it. “Buzzed. I’ll admit to buzzed.” With a grin, he leaned in and placed a quick peck to her lips before she even knew it was happening.

Scully frowned. Heightened sense of smell or not, he was beyond buzzed. She’d seen him buzzed. And, the smell of the alcohol was going to make her puke.

“Please, tell me you didn’t drive.”

Mulder frowned. “I’m buzzed, not stupid.” Scully fought the urge to disagree but he placed his hands on her hips as a grin formed on his face and he added, “Besides, I have a kid to raise.”

That did it.

She grinned back and said, “I take it you had a good time with the boys?”

“Played D&D.” She arched an amused eyebrow. Truth be told, it was another one of the little things she loved about him. “They _really_ like you, ya know.”

She laughed and said, “I’m glad your friends like me.”

“Me, too. I’d have to drop them if they didn’t.” She arched an eyebrow, but he didn’t seem to notice as he continued. “But, they’re all supportive and… stuff.”

“And stuff?”

“Mmhmm.”

Scully laughed. “You really are drunk.” She maneuvered out his grasp and went to get him some water.

“They think you could do a lot better than me, too. Which, you can but—.”

“Drink this,” she interjected, holding out the glass of water to him. He opened his mouth, presumably to protest, but she beat him to it. “Stop talking for a minute,” she said and he made a motion of zipping his lips as she practically shoved the glass in his hand. “Drink this,” she ordered. Mulder obeyed without a word, downing the glass in one go, causing her eyebrows to lift and a smirk to form on her face.

When he was finished drinking his water, he handed the glass back to her.

“Now, go to bed. I’ll get you some aspirin. You’ll need it.”

Instead of obeying, he stood there with a stupid grin on his face that was starting to make her testy. Drunk Mulder was such a child.

“What?” She asked, trying to temper what was, very quickly, becoming irritation.

“You’re going to be a good mom,” he replied and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before stumbling his way to the bedroom obediently.

A grin tugged at the corners of her mouth as his words sunk in. There was no denying that she loved that man. He was an idiot, but he was _her_ idiot.

Scully shook her head, fixed her tea, and made her way to the couch.

* * *

Mulder woke when the bed dipped as Scully joined him in it. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been asleep but judging by the throbbing in his head and the distinct feeling of the bed spinning, he didn’t think it was for very long.

“Sorry,” she said quietly. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“S’okay,” he slurred in a mix between sleep and inebriation and rolled over to drape an arm around here as though that would ground him to whatever surface was spinning.

An indiscernible amount of time passed before he spoke up again.

“You take good care of me,” he slurred quietly.

She chuckled a little and said, “Someone has to.”

He nestled closer to her and whispered, “I love you.”

He liked that could say it freely now. The frequency with which he said it probably annoyed her, he figured, but he couldn’t help himself sometimes. He had seven years worth of silence to make up for and he was content to do it.

“I love you, too,” she replied, gently rubbing his forearm. “Go back to sleep.”

They laid in silence for a couple of minutes before he spoke up again.

“Scully?”

“Mm?” She replied sleepily.

“Marry me.”

“Mulder?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re still drunk.”

He chuckled. Yes, he was certainly still somewhat _buzzed_.

“If I ask you when I’m sober, will you say ‘yes’?”

“I’ll think about it,” she replied. He smiled and pressed a kiss to the back of her neck.

“That’s better than a ‘no’.”

“Go back to sleep, Mulder,” she sighed.

He did.

* * *

He had no idea what time it was when he woke up, but he knew it was early. His head was pounding but the room wasn’t spinning. Mulder turned his head to Scully’s side of the bed, her back was to him and he fought the urge to drape an arm around her.

She wasn’t asleep. Mulder could tell by her breathing. He was hesitant to break her concentration on the off-chance that she wanted him to think she was asleep. Although, he couldn’t fathom a reason for that.

So, he laid there for several minutes and listened to her breathe. He thought back to the previous night and, when he couldn’t recall a lot of it, he had to admit that he’d been more drunk than he thought he was. And…

Shit.

He’d proposed.

That was _so_ not how he wanted to do it. She hadn’t given him an answer, he realized. Not that he could blame her. She deserved more than a half-assed, drunk proposal.

When he couldn’t take it anymore, Mulder rolled over, placing his hand on her hip under the covers.

“You okay?” He asked softly and placed a gentle kiss to the base of her neck.

“Yeah,” she replied. Scully must have known that he didn’t believe her because she rolled over to face him as he propped his head up with his hand. “I was just thinking about what we’ll do when the baby comes,” she confessed.

“Before or after we get married?” Scully smirked in response and he chuckled. “Yes, I made that assumption and I stand by it.”

Scully chuckled in response, but quickly exhaled a sigh.

“What is it?” He asked.

“Hormones, probably,” she confessed. “I was just thinking.”

Yeah, he’d gathered that.

“Care to share, Agent Ambiguity?”

Scully chuffed out a laugh and Mulder couldn’t help but to grin.

“Seriously,” he continued, softening his tone. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” she replied in what was possibly the sweetest tone he’d heard from her to date. As though it had a mind of its own, his hand rested on her toned abdomen. There was something sobering in the knowledge that their child was forming just underneath his palm.

Her hand covered his and he met her gaze.

“I love you,” she said quietly.

Hearing Special Agent Dana Scully, M.D. say those words to him was humbling. She could’ve had anyone she wanted and, yet, she chose him. That was something that he never wanted to take for granted.

Although, truth be told, he had done just that. Far too many times.

“I love you, too,” he replied and pulled her to him. She came willingly, resting her head on his shoulder and her hand on his chest.

They stayed that way, silently, for a long while; each lost in their own thoughts.

“I meant it, you know,” he said quietly after awhile.

“Meant what?”

“My less-than-desirable proposal.” He shifted to look her in the eye. “I want to get married.”

“Mulder…”

“I have a ring,” he blurted. She stiffened against him. “I just…”

Mulder exhaled a sigh and rose from the bed and made his way to his jacket that was draped still draped over the back of the couch.

Scully sat up as Mulder walked back over, taking a seat on the edge of the bed so that he was facing her.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time,” he confessed shyly. “I’m not really sure when it happened, but I’ve been yours for years. Since we met, I’ve been in love with you longer than I wasn’t. And, yes, you’re the mother of my child, but… Scully, that’s just a bonus. I didn’t ask because you’re pregnant or because I was drunk; I asked because I love you.” He opened the box and, preemptively, added, “If you shoot me down again, I’m going to keep asking until you believe me.” Scully laughed at that and he felt his tension ease. “So... Scully... will you marry me?”

A smile formed on her face and, softly, she said, “Yes.”


	5. Chapter 5

Announcing their engagement did not go the way that Scully had seen it going. Truth be told, she’d been dreading the announcement. She knew her mother would be happy — if there was one person her mother loved as much as her own children, it was Mulder.

Her mother had been thrilled, of course. Right away, she’d hugged them, bid them congratulations, and essentially began planning their wedding. What had surprised Scully, though, was her mother’s lack of surprise. Mulder, on the other hand, seemed to pay it no mind.

“Mom…” she began, as her mother moved to the sink to begin clean up. Scully grabbed a dish towel and began to dry the dishes that Maggie had already washed.

“For crying out loud, Dana,” her mother said, as though she’d been anticipating the conversation. “It’s not like it wasn’t coming.” Scully must have made a face because her mother continued, “You’re carrying the man’s child.”

“Well, yes… but, that doesn’t mean —.” Her mother was giving her that look; the one that dared her to continue. “Mom, I’m not marrying him because I got pregnant.”

“Well, I should hope not,” Maggie retorted, leaving her daughter at a complete loss for words. “Dana, that man has been in love with you since I met him. If I was a gambling woman, I’d wager that you’ve been in love with him for just as long. I like to think you’re marrying him because you love him.”

Scully’s jaw dropped and her eyebrows threatened to fly off her face. That wasn’t, at all, what she’d expected. Truth be told, she’d expected some kind of lecture on wedlock and religion from her very Catholic mother.

“Don’t act so surprised,” Maggie admonished. “It seems the only people who didn’t know were the two of you.”

Scully had heard the rumors, of course. Although, she’d never given any credence to them. If everyone else knew, as her mother had purported, why hadn’t they been separated a long time ago? Or, at the very least, why had no one called them out on it?

“Have you given any thought to what you’re going to do when the baby comes?”

“What do you mean?”

“Work, Dana.” Scully could’ve sworn she heard her mother grumble, “Honestly…” at the end of her statement, but she couldn’t be sure.

“Oh, um, I plan to keep working.” Her mother stopped what she was going and looked at her. Scully could only sigh. “What, Mom?”

“You plan on going out in the field with Fox?” There was a dumbfounded tone to her mother’s voice.

“Well, I’m taking a full maternity leave but, when that’s up, yes, I still plan to do my job.”

“Fox is okay with that?”

“Why wouldn’t he be?” Scully retorted.

“Have you talked about it?”

There was a tone to her mother’s voice that told Scully there was more to this conversation than what she’d originally thought. This was methodical.

“Has he said something about it?” She countered. When her mother didn’t answer, Scully sighed and said, “Mom, I still have a job to do. We still have cases to investigate. We’ve talked about taking more close-to-home cases, but we do still have to take the cases that we’re assigned.”

“I know, Dana… I just worry about you. Both of you. All three of you.” Maggie paused before asking, “Have you considered going into medicine?”

There it was.

Mulder had asked her the same question a couple of days ago. That couldn’t be a coincidence.

“I haven’t given it much thought, no,” she replied coolly; although, not entirely honestly. Truth be told, it had been a fleeting thought. Nevertheless, she continued, “Mom, just because we’ll have a child doesn’t mean —.”

“I know, honey. I get it; I do.” Setting the dish back in the sink, Maggie faced her daughter. “You’re in a high-risk profession. You and Fox. I just don’t want you to do anything reckless.”

Scully arched an eyebrow, silently challenging her mother to name one time she’d been reckless since she was a kid. Maggie sighed her concession.

“Being a parent is a lot different than being a child.”

“I know that, Mom. So does Mulder.” When her mother didn’t reply, Scully sighed, “We still have quite a bit of time to make a decision, Mom. But, it is our decision.”

“I know, Dana,” Maggie sighed.

Mulder, bless him, chose that particular moment to unwittingly interrupt their conversation and, subsequently, save Scully from having to continue it.

“How can I help?” He asked, leaning against the counter on Scully’s side of the sink.

* * *

The ride back to Scully’s apartment was nearly silent. It wasn’t the comfortable silence to which he’d grown accustomed during their time in a vehicle. It was a deafening silence brought about by the distant look he saw on her face before she turned to look at out the window. Their fingers were still laced together, albeit loosely.

Scully was a million miles away and he didn’t like it. Something had been off since before they left her mom’s.

“Are you okay?” He finally asked, releasing her hand so he could turn the wheel with both of his.

“I’m fine,” she sighed. “Just tired.”

While it was probably true given how easily exhausted she was these days, he knew her well enough to know that there was something on her mind.

“What is it?” He asked softly.

“Just something my mom said,” she replied without looking at him. “It’s nothing.”

So, she didn’t want to talk about it.

Fine.

No. Not fine, he decided.

“Scully —.”

“Did you say something to my mom about me going back to medicine?”

“No,” he replied, carefully. She seemed to pick up on it. He glanced at her and she clearly didn’t believe him. “I never said anything about you going back to medicine,” he insisted. “I’m not opposed to it, though.”

She sighed a frustrated sigh.

“I thought we talked about this,” she said, just short of snapping at him.

“We did.” He paused before saying, “Wait—are you mad at _me_?”

“I’m not mad at anyone,” she retorted. “I just wish all of you would stop reminding me that—.” She exhaled, steeling herself.

“Scully, don’t shut me out,” he nearly begged. “What’s going on?”

“I just find it interesting that you would mention that I go back to medicine after my maternity leave a couple of days ago and then my mother bringing it up today.”

There was an accusation to her tone that left him slightly on the defensive.

“I promise you, I didn’t say anything about it to your mom,” he insisted. “We talked about the possibility of you transferring to the academy but that was—.”

“Nice, Mulder,” she snapped. “I’m glad you and my mother are planning my career for me.”

He scoffed. “No one is planning your career for you. It was just a conversation. She was worried about your involvement with the X-Files and, you know what, so am I. I’m not going to apologize for being concerned about my fiancée and my kid.”

“I’m not asking you not to be concerned, Mulder, I’m asking you not to go behind my back and talk to my _mother_ about it!” She snapped.

“I _didn’t_ go behind your back!” He bit back. “It was a conversation.” He gripped the wheel hard enough for his knuckles to turn white in an attempt to get himself under control before he said something stupid.

What the hell was happening and was this what he had to look forward to over the next few months?

The few minutes it took them to pull up to her apartment building were the longest few minutes of his life.

“Am I coming up or going back to my place?” He asked, trying to keep his voice as calm and soothingly as possible, as she hastily unbuckled herself and opened the door, very clearly still angry.

“Do whatever you want,” she threw over her shoulder before slamming the door shut.

Mulder watched from the driver’s seat as she entered the apartment building, giving both of them a few minutes to calm down.

He should just go back to his place, he mused. They could probably do with a night apart. However, the more he thought about it, the more he thought it was a bad idea.

They were getting married, having a baby, starting a life together. They should be able to work this out without it devolving into a screaming match. Although, part of him was nervous that she’d remove her ring and give it back to him if he went up there. No, he couldn’t risk that.

He rubbed his eyes, frustrated and tired, before letting out a sigh, killing the engine, and following Scully upstairs.

They were going to deal with this. Whatever it was.

* * *

Scully threw her keys on the counter in frustration. She was tired of being treated like an invalid; like, because she was pregnant, she was incapable of making decisions regarding her own life.

“Bastard,” she growled to the empty apartment before making her way to the bedroom to change into something more comfortable.

When she came back into the living room, Mulder was sitting the couch.

“I thought you were going home,” she all but snarled at him.

“You are my home,” he replied in a tone she didn’t recognize. He let out a sigh and rose from his spot, tentatively making his way to her. “Scully, I’m sorry that I talked about this with your mom; but, I’m not sorry for the reason.” He placed his hands on her arms and rubbed gently. “We’re having a kid. We’re getting married. At some point, we’ll be living together and not just crashing between two apartments; we’ll have an _actual_ home. We’re a family now. I’m never going to apologize for thinking about my family.”

She exhaled a sigh, the tension slowly leaving her body in the process.

“I appreciate the concern, Mulder, I do,” she began, “I just…” Scully exhaled again before continuing, “I’m just getting tired of everyone making decisions about me and about this baby. I have enough to deal with without that being added to it.”

“No one’s trying to make decisions without you. We’re just concerned.” He let out a sigh before saying, “What we do on the X-Files is dangerous. It’s not like being at a desk or investigating embezzlement. We face real threats every single time we take a case.”

“You didn’t act like this before we found out about the baby.”

Mulder grinned. “You just didn’t notice it before,” he countered. She heaved a sigh and he pulled her to his chest. “What’s this really about, Scully? I can’t… I can’t fix it if I don’t know.”

“It’s nothing,” she said against him.

“It’s something.” He pulled back after a moment and pressed a kiss to her forehead before looking her in the eye. “Is this going too fast? Is that it?”

There was a concern in his eyes, maybe a spark of fear, that made her soften.

“I don’t know,” she replied honestly.

“Are you… are you having second thoughts about getting married?”

“No,” she replied hastily. “No, of course not.”

“Then, what…?”

“My mom is planning our wedding, my job, whether or not the baby is going to be raised in the Catholic faith. We’re house hunting and working and…”

“You need a break,” he concluded.

“I need to _think_ ,” she replied. “It’s one thing after another and I can’t catch my breath.”

He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and softly, “What do you need from me?”

“I need you on my side,” she confessed. “I need you _with_ me making these decisions.”

He pulled her back to him and said, “Done.”

They stayed that way before pulling apart. She met his gaze and asked, “Do you really want me off of the X-Files?”

“I want you _safe_ ,” he replied. “If anyone can pull off being a parent and doing what we do, it’s you, but I want you safe. Thinking about you teaching or practicing medicine…”

“I want you safe, too,” she replied.

He smiled. “I managed the X-Files alone before you showed up.”

“And, look how that turned out.”

He chuffed a laugh and she chuckled, too. After a moment, the gravity of the situation returned.

“Mulder, I don’t like the thought of you taking cases alone any more than you like the thought of me going into the field after the baby’s born.” She smirked and added, “It doesn’t help that you don’t play well with others.”

“I play well with you,” he retorted suggestively.

“If you play like that with anyone else, I’ll shoot you in the other shoulder,” she bit back playfully, causing him to laugh.

“So, I’ll transfer. You’re not the only one in this family capable of teaching.” Smugly, he added, “I think my slideshows are proof of that.”

“Mulder, I’m the only one who likes your slideshows.” He laughed at that, but she grew serious again. “Could you really do that?”

“Do what?”

“Leave the X-Files? Your life’s work?”

“Honey, I did what I set out to do. I found Samantha. Maybe, not how I wanted to; but, I found her. And, I got you in the process. I wouldn't trade that for anything.”

“Are you sure about that? I won’t ask you to walk away from it.”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering.”

“Yeah, but—.”

“I meant what I said in Oregon. There has to be an end. We’re gonna have baby in a few months. We’re getting married. We’re starting a new life. Together. Now is as good a time as any to make this change, too.”

“You’re sure?”

He laughed. “Would you stop asking me that? Yes, I’m sure; I’ve never been more sure of anything. I found my sister and I did with you by my side — I probably never would’ve found her without you there.” He pressed a tender kiss to her lips before adding, “We can do this together... like we do everything else.”

Scully mulled it over for a moment.

“After my maternity leave.”

“Okay,” Mulder conceded. “When you go on maternity leave, I’ll talk to Skinner about replacements for us.”

Scully sighed. “There won’t be replacements. They’ll shut down the X-Files.” She paused before asking, “Can you handle that? Can you really walk away knowing that?”

“Yes,” he said, resolute. “Can you?”

If she was being honest, she wasn’t sure. The X-Files had been such a large part of their lives of seven years. They’d challenged her; pushed her to her limit in every sense of the definition. The X-Files had brought the two of them together in the first place.

Scully couldn’t honestly say that she was ready for that; that she was ready to live a life without the files in it. Could she truly handle a life that was domestic and mundane?

She knew she’d talked about getting out of the proverbial car, but it had been a hypothetical scenario. Now, it was real and she was being forced to choose.

“It’s okay to say ‘no’,” he said, as though reading her mind. “We still have some time to get used to the idea. We can wean ourselves off of it.”

“Wean ourselves off of it?” She repeated with a smirk.

Mulder chuckled. “I think we’d both go crazy if we left cold turkey.” He let out a breath and said, “But, we can take fewer away cases over the next few months, do more desk work.”

“You know as well as I do that our job can’t be confined to the office.”

“True… but, I also know that we have something that’s a little more important to us.”

Instinctively, her hand went to her mostly flat stomach, to the child forming therein.

“In the meantime,” he continued with a grin, “we could always elope; knock out that stressor.”

“My mother would murder both of us,” she retorted slowly.

“She’d kill me. You’re giving her a grandchild; I think it’s safe to say that you possess immunity.”

Scully chuffed out a laugh. “Well, you’re this baby’s father. He or she needs their daddy, too.”

He smiled widely at that.

“Daddy,” he repeated with a sense of wonder that caused her to smile.

“Yeah… Daddy.”

He placed his hand on the subtle swell of her belly. “Hear that, kid?” he asked. “I’m your daddy.”

After a moment, he placed a lingering kiss on her lips and rested his forehead against hers.

“Hey, Scully?”

“Mm?”

“We survived our first fight as an engaged couple.”

She chuffed in response and met his lips again.

“Let’s elope,” she agreed quietly.

“You sure?” She nodded against his forehead. “Okay. Let’s elope.”


	6. Chapter 6

Mulder rolled over to find Scully’s back to him, her even breathing being the only burden of proof he needed to know that she was still very much asleep. He smirked and scooted closer to her, placing his hand on her waist and small kisses along her neck and shoulder. She didn’t so much as flinch at his touch, telling him that not only was she still sleeping, she was very deeply asleep.

“Time to wake up, Sleeping Beauty,” he said softly. She only groaned and nestled deeper into her pillow, causing Mulder to chuckle. “Scul-ly,” he said in a soft sing-song. “The alarm went off ten minutes ago.”

“Few m’re min’s,” she slurred. He chuckled into the back of her neck and placed a soft kiss there.

“I thought you wanted to swing by the courthouse to apply for the marriage license before work,” he prodded.

She batted him away, to his amusement, and mumbled something that sounded like “we can do it at lunch;” although, he couldn’t say that for certain.

Deciding to let her have a few more minutes of sleep, he rose from the bed and made for bathroom.

He was sipping his coffee when Scully emerged from the bedroom, still in the pajamas she wore the previous night.

“Morning,” he greeted.

“Morning,” she replied.

“Want some coffee?” She shot him a look. “One cup of regular coffee won’t hurt, will it?” He asked.

“No, but we both know I won’t be able to have just one.” She grabbed the bagels and popped one in into the toaster. “Enjoy yours so I can live vicariously through you.”

Mulder winced. “I can pick up some decaf...”

“No,” she sighed. “No point in drinking coffee if won’t do what it’s supposed to do.”

He was tempted to dump the remainder of his coffee down the drain in solidarity. If he didn’t know her better than that, he would have. But, she would tell him how ridiculous he was being and, given her mood swings lately, would probably spend the day pissed at him. Mulder wasn’t about to risk that over a caffeinated substance.

He watched as she grabbed the peanut butter to spread on her bagel. That was her thing lately, he’d noticed.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said; although, he detected amusement in her voice. “Your kid seems to like peanut butter.”

“Yeah, I could tell,” he said back, hiding his grin with his coffee mug. “We’ve gone through a lot of it lately. I was thinking about picking up the industrial sized one next time. It’d probably be cheaper.”

Scully frowned and he laughed.

“I think it’s safe to say that he or she doesn’t have a peanut allergy,” he continued.

“Keep it up, Mulder,” she warned before taking a bite of her breakfast.

“You know you love me,” he retorted, pressing a kiss to her cheek before heading back to the bedroom to finish getting dressed.

It wasn’t too long before she was out of the shower and getting dressed as Mulder watched from the bed. Every so often, she’d shoot a glance at him that told him it was annoying but, he couldn’t stop. He’d noticed the subtle baby bump and couldn’t peel his eyes away.

Without thinking, he made his way over to her as she pulled on a dark purple colored button down shirt. She attempted to start buttoning it, but he caught her hand from behind her; gently pulling her hand from the buttons.

“What is it?” she asked softly, although somewhat dubiously, as he stood with his arms around her met her gaze in the mirror. His hand covered the bump.

“There’s a baby in there,” he said in her ear. One hand covered his while the other reached back to touch his face.

“Yeah, there is,” she replied with a smile.

“We did that.”

“Yes, we did.” They stayed that way for a moment before she said, “Mulder, I need to finish getting ready or we’ll be late for work.”

He held her tighter and said, “Let’s call in,” before placing a sensual kiss to the sensitive spot on her neck.

She snorted in amusement and rolled out of his arms before proceeding to button her shirt.

“That’s not exactly the reaction I was going for,” he said with a pout.

“We can’t call in.”

“Why not?”

“Because we have a job to do?”

He grinned and walked slowly toward her. “Scully, those cases will be there tomorrow. It’s one day.”

“Mulder, we can’t. I’m already going to need plenty of time off when the baby gets here.”

He hung his head in defeat. Scully was smirking and walking toward him when he looked back up.

“Don’t give me the eyes!” She said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “The answer is no.”

“Fine,” he groaned. “But, we _are_ taking a couple days off when we get married. I refuse to marry you and then go to work.”

“I can live with that,” she replied and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. “Come on,” she said, taking his hand, “we have to go.”

The day progressed as boringly as Mulder has seemed to think it would. Truth be told, they could’ve taken the day off and no one would’ve noticed. Except, maybe, Skinner. Eventually.

“You _have_ to stop staring,” She admonished, peering at him from the other side of the desk.

“I can’t,” he said innocently. “I know things, Scully.”

She frowned. “What things?”

He grinned. “Oh, you know… things.”

Scully arched an eyebrow, still not following that brilliant, although often frustrating, brain of his.

“I know what you look like naked,” he began and she couldn’t help but to roll her eyes. “I know that there’s a little Mulder in where that little bump is.”

“You really like saying that, don’t you?” She retorted.

He’d been referencing the baby at, what seemed like, every chance he got. She was happy that he was happy about it, but if she was being honest, it was rapidly moving from sweet to annoying. She honestly couldn’t blame that notion on hormones, either.

“What can I say?” Mulder replied with a shrug. “I’m gonna be a dad.”

“And, you’re going to be a great dad, but we still have work to do.”

“Not for an hour, we don’t.” Scully blinked at him in confusion, causing him to grin. “It’s lunch time.”

She checked her watch. He was right.

“I’m not really hungry, yet,” she confessed. “But, you can go ahead.” Scully smirked and added, “Maybe, I’ll actually get some work done while you’re gone.”

“Oh, come on!” He protested.

“If you’re hungry, go eat,” she retorted. “I’ll go when you get back.” She turned back to the expense report on which she’d barely made a dent. “I need to finish this. Skinner wants it in the morning and I don’t want to be here all night.” He groaned loudly in protest. “Mulder, you’re the one that drug us to Denver in the first place!”

“Fine!” He conceded with a pout.

God help her if this child inherited his puppy eyes and pouty lip.

“You want me to bring anything back?”

She thought for a moment before shaking her head.

“Call me if you change your mind,” he said, pressing a kiss to her cheek on his way to the door. She turned around to scold him for breaking their rules about PDA in the office but he was already gone.

“Smug bastard,” she said, smirking to the empty office.

Scully hadn’t realized just how much work she’d gotten done until Mulder was entering the office with a pleasant, “I come bearing gifts.”

She turned to face him. He held up a bag from the place she’d called and asked him to stop for her and what looked like a packet of paper.

“What’s that?” She asked as he walked toward her.

“ _This_ ,” he said, handing the take out bag to her, “is the lunch I refuse to believe my kid enjoys.”

“Thank you,” she replied with a smirk. “I was talking about the other thing.”

He grinned widely. “ _This_ is the application for our marriage license.” She must have made a face because he laughed. “You said to pick it up at lunch.”

She thought for a moment, racking her brain to find that particular conversation but came up empty.

“When?”

“This morning,” he replied.

“You’re making that up,” she grumbled.

He chuckled. “No. I tried to wake you up early so we could go before work and you told me to pick it up when we went to lunch.”

She paused what she was doing and met his gaze. “Is that why you wanted me to go to lunch with you?” With a sigh, she added, “I’m sorry.”

Mulder only waved it off. “I was in and out of there in about five minutes flat.”

“Thank you for picking it up.”

He nodded in response. “So, did you get any work done while I was gone?”

There was a playfulness to his tone that caused her to smirk. “I did, actually,” she replied. “It’s amazing what I can accomplish when you’re not staring at me.”

Mulder laughed. “Alright, I get it. You know, you’d be surprised what I can accomplish when you’re not here for me to stare _at_.”

“Are you saying that I’m a distraction?”

“That’s… absolutely what I’m saying.”

“Maybe, I should just go work upstairs then…”

His jaw dropped. “You wouldn’t.”

Scully arched her eyebrow in a flirtatious challenge.

“Well, we agreed to keep our relationship and our work separate. You seem to be having a problem with that.”

“Of course, I have a problem with that!” He retorted in exasperation. “We’re getting married. I’m not allowed to look at you?”

“Looking and staring are entirely different, Mulder. We agreed to keep things professional at work.”

“The kiss earlier was instinct,” he replied somewhat defensively.

Scully sighed. “That’s what I’m talking about. Mulder, I love you and I love working with you but if you can’t keep it professional, I might _have_ to start spending more time upstairs. I don’t want them to separate us for however long we’re still here.”

“Oh, I can keep things professional, Agent Scully,” he said flirtatiously. She scoffed in return. “You don’t think so?” He challenged. She arched an eyebrow. “Oh, ye of little faith. I can keep it _so_ professional.”

“You have less than an hour to prove me wrong,” she said, smirking, before taking a bite of her lunch.

Mulder pursed his lips thoughtfully before nearly jumping out of his chair and making his way to the filing cabinet.

“That’s what I thought,” she said in a quiet amusement. He didn’t seem to hear her as he browsed the cases waiting for them. Maybe now they’d be able to get something accomplished before leaving for the day.

* * *

At five on the dot, Scully was ready to leave. In all reality, she’d been ready for a couple of hours. She was tired and she had a headache.

Mulder, however, was still in his meeting with Skinner. He’d been in there for a while, she realized and began to wonder if she should be worried.

But, Skinner hadn’t asked for her. Only her partner. She could only assume that he was getting in trouble for something. Part of her hoped that it was for the expensive waste of time that was the Denver case.

Her report was almost finished and Scully supposed she could work on it while she waited. Although, the throbbing in her temples seemed to be begging to differ. With a sigh, she grabbed the report and put it in her briefcase, deciding to just leave a note for Mulder and head home to shower and take a nap.

She could finish the report at home. It wasn’t exactly like they had anything pressing to do.

* * *

Mulder heaved a sigh as he stood outside the door to Scully’s apartment. She was going to hate him for this; possibly injure him again. It wasn’t like he had a choice in the matter.

This time it was orders.

He had orders to leave for Vermont as soon as possible. Local PD had requested the FBI’s help and the local satellite office had asked for him.

If it had been a regular case or even just assisting on a case in any other capacity, he wouldn’t be so anxious about telling her and he certainly wouldn’t have paced the hall for thirty minutes to work up the guts to tell her about it. But, he had to profile a serial killer. Scully _hated_ when his profiling services were requested — or, in this case, required.

Mulder ran his hand through his hair. He really needed to get this over with before she called him to ask where he was.

With a sigh, he braced himself and entered the apartment.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for typos. Posted this from my phone so, I’m sure autocorrect probably got me in a place or two.

It was almost nine o’clock when Mulder entered the apartment. Scully looked up from her book as he shut the door behind him.

“Hey,” she greeted. “There you are. I wasn’t sure if you were going back to your place or not.”

“Why would I do that?” He asked, his eyebrows knitted together and a confused look on his face. “I go where you go.”

Scully smirked at that. “Dinner’s in the fridge.” He only nodded in response, his own version of throwing up a red flag — whether he realized it or not. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Long day.”

Scully smirked. “Mulder, you realize that you basically threw pencils at the ceiling and stared at me all day,” she said, amusement present in her voice.

“That’s not true!” He protested in mock offense. “I also picked up the application for our marriage license.”

Scully grinned. “Right. You did that, too.” He sat on the couch next to her, exhaling a small sigh. “Are you going to tell me what’s really bothering you?”

“Yes, but you’re not going to like it.”

Scully stiffened, silently preparing herself for whatever it was that he had to say.

“Okay,” she prompted, bracing for impact.

“I have to go to Vermont in the morning for a case.”

Scully exhaled in relief. “Oh! Okay. How long will you be gone?”

“I’m not sure.”

She eyed him carefully. There was more to this story that he didn’t want her to know. Whatever it was, his face gave away that much.

“Mulder…”

He sighed again and said, “Serial killer.”

“They want you to make a profile,” she concluded. A knot formed in her stomach that no amount of calming tea would loosen.

“Yeah,” he confessed. “I tried to get out of it, but it’s an order.”

“What time do we leave?”

Mulder chuffed a humorless laugh. “There’s no ‘we’ this time.”

“Mulder, no.”

“Scul—.”

“I know what profiling does to you. I’ve seen it.”

“I know, but I don’t exactly have a choice.” He sighed again. “I promise I’ll take care of myself, okay?”

Scully didn’t buy that for a second and the look on her face must have revealed that because his eyes softened.

“You know I’d rather have you with me—.”

“So, we’ll—.”

“Scully, no. I don’t want you anywhere near this. I won’t have all the details until I get there and I don’t want to put you in harm’s way.”

She scoffed and said, “Because being on the X-Files isn’t potentially harmful at all.”

“This is different.”

“How?” She demanded. “Aside from not being an X-File, I assume, how is this different?”

“There’s no discernible pattern right now!” He snapped. Scully was taken back by the sharpness of his tone. This actually scared him. Whatever it was. Mulder heaved a sigh before continuing. “I know we said that wouldn’t let our relationship prevent us from doing our job and that we’d stay professional, but this time… this time, I don’t like thought of you being out there where you or the baby could be hurt. You can get mad at me for it, but that’s where I stand.”

Scully had to admit that part of her was upset about it. He was right: they’d agreed to keep work and home separate for a reason and this seemed to betray that reason. At the same time, the fear in his eyes was enough to keep her softened to the idea. He was concerned about his family, but he also needed to realize that she was an adult and, although she was pregnant, it didn’t mean that she wasn’t capable of doing her job.

She was about to tell him that, too, when he sighed and laid his head in her lap. Instinctively, she began to run her fingers through his hair.

“Mulder, I feel like a broken record saying it, but just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean—.”

“I know,” Mulder interjected. “I didn’t mean to imply that you’re incapable of doing the job. I just… It sounds like they have next to nothing on this guy and I don’t want you out there until I know he’s not a threat to you.”

It was Scully’s turn to heave a sigh. “We have to find a way to get passed this, Mulder. You can’t keep making decisions like this.”

“Like what? I told you, I don’t have a choice.”

“I meant about whether or not I should be in the field.” When he didn’t respond, she said, “I don’t like the idea of you going without me any more than you like the idea of me being there. We can’t keep having this conversation.”

“I know,” he replied in a quiet tone.

They stayed that way for several, long minutes before Mulder finally left the couch and headed for the kitchen. Scully sipped her tea, not knowing what else to do. If they continued with this conversation, it would turn into a fight. She didn’t have it in her to fight with him right now. Mulder, likely, didn’t have much of a fight in him just then, either.

After a moment, she marked her book and placed it on the coffee table, grabbing her mug on the process, and proceeded to the kitchen.

Mulder looked at her from the microwave as she emptied and washed the mug.

“I’m going to bed,” she announced tiredly, walking toward him as the microwaved dinged. She rose on her toes to press a quick kiss to his lips.

“I’ll be there in a bit,” he replied, stealing another kiss.

* * *

The alarm went off far too early for Mulder’s liking, not that he’d gotten much sleep anyway. He quickly shut it off, hoping that it didn’t wake the woman lying next to him. He rolled over to face her. Scully was still dead to the world, it seemed.

After several minutes of staring at her sleeping form, he got up and made for the bathroom.

Showered, dressed, and lacking caffeine, Mulder went to the kitchen for coffee. He was surprised to find it already brewing and Scully sitting at the table with a bagel in front of her and a frown on her face.

“Were planning to leave without saying goodbye?” She asked. He couldn’t tell if she was joking or if she was serious.

“No,” he replied. “I was going to tell you goodbye before I left. I just didn’t want to wake you before I had to go.” He shrugged. “You were tossing and turning; figured you needed the rest.”

She softened a bit at that.

“Thank you,” she replied. “Want me to give you a ride to the airport?” Scully asked before taking a bite of her breakfast.

Mulder shook his head. “No, I can just take cab. You have an appointment this morning, right? I don’t want you to be late for it.”

She nodded thoughtfully as she chewed her food.

“How long do you think you’ll be gone?”

Mulder sighed as he poured his coffee. “I don’t know. Hopefully, just a few days. As far as I know, I’m just writing a profile.”

“Make sure you call me when you land.”

He couldn’t help but to grin at that. They really had come a long way — not just in the last year, but in the last couple of months.

Their progress amazed him, when he thought about it. When he’d first met Scully, Mulder was determined not to like her. But, there was just something about her that he could place his finger on. Even now, if he was being honest. He grew to trust her far quicker than he had anyone else in his life.

Somewhere along the way, they’d fallen in love with each other and he couldn’t imagine himself with anyone else. He didn’t even want to. She was the love of his life, but she could do so much better.

Part of Mulder wondered if she knew that. She was settling for him; although, she’d repeatedly told him that she didn’t see it that way. But, there she was in her pajamas, munching on a bagel, pregnant with his kid, and prepared to miss him in his absence.

How the hell did he get so lucky?

“We talked about this staring thing,” she said with an amused look her eyes.

“We did. And, I thought we established that I can’t help it.” He slid into the seat in front of her, adding, “You’re gorgeous, you know that?” That made her blush which made him smile. He liked having the power to do that. “I really don’t want to go to Vermont.”

Scully smiled ruefully and reached across the table to take his hand. “I know. I don’t want you to go, either. But, it’s only for a few days.”

He nodded and sipped his coffee hoping that this would be quick case.

Mulder checked his watch a few minutes later and sighed. “I’ve got to go,” he said rising from the table to put his mug in the sink. Scully followed him. He looked down at her, wanting nothing more than to crawl back into bed beside her and sleep for a few more hours. He pressed a kiss to her lips and said, “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” she replied, walking him to the door with her hand in his. “Call me when you get there.”

“I will,” he promised before stealing another quick kiss. “Bye.”

“Bye,” She replied.

Mulder heard the door lock behind him as he made his way to the elevator.

* * *

“Agent Mulder,” a younger man — early thirties, if Mulder had to guess — said, approaching him at quick pace. “Mike McMahon.” His hand shot out to shake Mulder’s. “Thanks for coming.”

“What have we got?” Mulder asked.

“We’re not sure,” Mike said cautiously. “I was told that you have a talent for cases like this. I appreciate the help.”

Mulder studied the young detective. To his surprise, Mike seemed genuine. Given the challenge the FBI usually got from local police departments, it was a welcomed surprise.

“I’ll try not to step on your toes, Detective,” Mulder said.

The detective chuffed a laugh. “Agent Mulder, I might be the youngest detective currently on the force, but I don’t exactly subscribe to the idea that the FBI is here to take over my case. Fact is, I called you. I’m not so arrogant that I can’t admit that I’m stumped. If you have an aptitude for this kind of thing, I would be remiss I’m not asking for help.”

“I appreciate that,” Mulder replied honestly, albeit slightly baffled.

“Lives are at stake,” Mike replied with a shrug. “That’s bigger than a jurisdictional pissing contest. I’ll get you whatever you need if you can help me catch this guy.”

“That’s the plan.”

Mike nodded and gestured toward the parking lot. “Shall we?”

When they arrived at the precinct, Mike faced him and said, “I took the liberty of getting the conference room set up for you. I wasn’t entirely sure about your process or how much space you’d need.”

“Thank you, Detective,” Mulder replied genuinely.

“Files are in there. Whiteboard. Coffee pot. I’ll be your go-to guy.” He paused tentatively before saying, “Agent Mulder, I know I’m the baby here — it’s kind of a running joke, but I meant what I said. It might be naive, but I’m a believer in working together, especially if we can save lives in the process. I’d like for us to work _together_ on this.”

“Like partners,” Mulder deduced.

“Yeah. We both have a particular skill set that can be employed here and… honestly, I’m looking forward to learning from you, if you’ll let me.”

The kid must be green, Mulder told himself. No seasoned officer would be thrilled about his presence there and, judging by the looks he’d already received, Detective McMahon was probably the precinct’s best chance at solving this case. His attitude was certainly naive, but he had been honest about needing help and he didn’t seem to give a damn about the things most of the detectives with whom Mulder had interacted in the past gave a damn about. He wondered if the precinct knew how lucky they were to have this kid as a detective.

“Let’s catch a killer,” Mulder replied. The kid beamed.

“Yes, Sir.”

“One thing, McMahon —.”

“You can just call me Mike.”

“Mike,” Mulder corrected. “Don’t call me ‘Sir’. Mulder’s fine.”

Mike laughed. “You got it.” He exhaled and opened the door to the briefing room. “I’m about to run over to the morgue to talk to my guy about the latest victim. You’re welcome to join me, but the ME’s report is in that stack right there,” he said, pointing to the left pile of folders.

“I’ll get started here,” Mulder replied. “The sooner I look at the files, the sooner I can come up with a profile on this guy and, hopefully, we can catch him before he kills anyone else.”

Mike nodded, processing Mulder’s words.

“Okay,” he said finally. “I’ll be back in a little while and then we can dive in. I just want to see if there’s anything new.”

Mulder quickly wondered if this kid was going to give him a play-by-play every time he did something pertaining to the case. That could get annoying fast, he mused, although didn’t dare to say it aloud.

“I’ll stick around here and get started on these files. Hopefully, something will stick out to me. Let me know what you find.”

“Will do,” Mike replied with a nod. “Call me if you find anything,” he added, handing his card to Mulder.

Mulder nodded in response and put the card in his pocket.

“I’ll leave you to it.”

With that, Mike exited the conference room. Mulder faced the table with a sigh. The sooner he got to work, the sooner he could go home.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The duo take on a case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeri. My friend. Thank you so much for working out the details of this case with me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it! ❤️

Scully entered the precinct with a sigh. It had been four days since she’d last heard from Mulder — since _anyone_ had heard from him. It wasn’t uncommon for him to retreat into the recesses of that brilliant mind of his, but that was also _precisely_ why she hadn’t wanted him on this case without her in the first place.

“Can I help you?” a uniformed officer asked.

“Special Agent Dana Scully,” she replied, flashing her credentials. “I’m looking for my partner, Special Agent Fox Mulder.”

“I got it, Mark,” a voice said from behind her. She turned around to see a young detective come to a stop behind her. “Detective McMahon,” he greeted, offering his hand.

“Dana Scully,” she replied, accepting the hand.

“Agent Mulder is in the conference room,” he said. “Actually, I’m not sure if he’s left since I talked to him last. I’m starting to think that putting a coffee pot in there with him might not have been such a good idea.”

Detective McMahon flashed a mega-watt grin and Scully let out a sigh.

“I take it this isn’t uncommon,” he said, running a hand through his short, sandy-blonde hair.

“No,” she replied.

He nodded in understanding. “I’ll take you to him. You can call me Mike, by the way.”

When they got to the conference room, Scully watched her fiancé and partner from the beyond the glass. He sat at the table, hunched over, presumably poring over flies and/or photographs. He looked intense.

After a moment, she walked inside. He didn’t seem to notice her entrance. She waited for a moment to see if he would.

“Mulder,” she said softly, finally. He didn’t bother looking up. With a sigh, she reached out to run her fingers through the hair on the back of his head. That seemed to get his attention.

“Scully? What are you doing here?”

Scully pulled her hand from his hair and leaned against the table so that she was facing him, arms crossed and ready to scold him.

“No one has heard from you in days.” She frowned and added, “not even me.”

A guilty look flashed in his eyes and he let out a sigh. “I’m sorry—.” He began, but she held up a hand to stop his excuse. She already knew it.

“You promised me that you’d take care of yourself.” In that moment, she wasn’t playing Agent Scully: Concerned Partner; she was playing the role of Dana Scully: Concerned Fiancée. The look on his face was enough to tell her that he knew it, too. “When was the last time you slept?”

“Scully, I’m _so_ close. I can feel it.”

“That’s not what I asked,” she admonished firmly.

He sighed and confessed, “I’m not sure.” Chuckling, he added, “What day is it?”

Scully eyed him hard. She was not amused and attempting to charm her was only serving to piss her off even more. He hung his head in defeat.

“Come on,” she said, pulling him by his arm.

“I can’t leave right now—.”

“Yes, you can,” She interjected. “And, you are.” They engaged in a brief staring contest, neither of them wanting to budge on this. “Mulder, come on. I know you well enough to know that you probably haven’t eaten and I’m starving. We can talk about the case and then go back to the motel and get some rest.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but she crossed her arms and gave him a stern look that dared him to fight her on this. With a sigh, he nodded.

When they exited the conference room, Detective McMahon stood there gaping. A grin formed on his face and he said, “I’ve been trying to get him to leave that room for… I don’t know how long. Teach me your ways, Sensei.”

Scully smirked. “We’ll be back later.”

“I’ll be here,” he said, heading to his desk as Scully and Mulder headed toward the door.

* * *

The ride to the restaurant was a silent one, feeding Mulder’s anxiety. He glanced over to Scully in the passenger’s seat as she stared out the window. He was conflicted about her presence. On the one hand, he was happy to see her; he’d missed her. On the other, he didn’t want the woman he lived anywhere near this case — not when he had no idea who he was looking for.

“Then, you should’ve called,” Scully deadpanned. He must’ve said that last part aloud.

“I would’ve,” he countered. Scully arched a challenging eyebrow. “I _would’ve_. I just…”

“Mulder, we’ve talked about this,” she sighed. “Too many times lately.”

“How am I supposed to protect you and the baby if I don’t know what I’m up against?” He asked helplessly.

“You don’t just protect me,” she countered. “We protect each other.”

Mulder refused to meet her gaze. She was right, he knew. It didn’t mean he had to like it.

“Tell me about the case,” she said.

“Four victims. All with their eyes removed. There doesn’t seem to be a pattern or a connection between them. Different hair colors; different walks of life. None of them went to the same schools or worked at the same places.” Scully studied him as continued, keeping his gaze on the road. “Notes were found at each of the scenes. Not shockingly, they were all cryptic.”

“Were they left there before or after the victim was killed?” She asked.

Huh.

He hadn’t thought of that.

“You mean like a warning?”

“Yeah.”

“Why would the killer warn his victims?”

“I don’t know, Mulder; I’m spitballing here.”

“I think we need to talk to the witnesses again?”

“I think it’s a good starting point.”

They were quiet for a couple of blocks before Scully spoke up again. “What do you think about Detective McMahon?”

Mulder chuckled. “He’s definitely idealistic.”

“He kind of reminds me of you.”

“Really? How so?”

Mulder saw Scully shrug out of the corner of his eye.

“Aside from the fact that he plays well with others and you don’t, I don’t know. There’s just something about him that reminds me of you.”

“I don’t have competition, do I?”

Scully laughed. God, he’d missed her laughter the last few days.

“Hey, I’ll cut him.”

She reached across the console and took his hand, lacing his fingers with her own.

“You have no competition.” Smirking, she added, “For now.”

* * *

When they got back to the motel, Mulder flopped on the bed. The mattress was lumpy but it still felt great to stretch out after sitting in the conference room for so many hours.

“I’m going to take a shower,” Scully announced. Mulder flipped on the TV, but dozed almost immediately.

He woke briefly when Scully climbed in bed beside him. The TV had been shut off as had the lights. He hadn’t even noticed. With a sigh, he got up long enough to strip to his boxers before climbing back into bed.

“Sorry,” Scully said. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s okay. I don’t exactly want to sleep in a suit, anyway.” He tried to sound playful, but the exhaustion betrayed him.

Scully nestled into him, resting her head on his shoulder and draping her arm across his torso. He pressed a kiss to her hair and held her tightly to him.

“I missed you,” she said quietly.

“Not nearly as much as I’ve missed you,” he retorted.

She chuckled against him. “I seriously doubt that. You were pretty focused when I found you.”

“Doesn’t mean I haven’t been missing you,” he replied quietly.

Soon, her breathing evened out and he, too, drifted to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Scully studied the notes left by the killer as she waited for Mulder and Detective McMahon to return to the precinct. It was part of their agreement for her to work the case: Scully was only in the field when absolutely necessary. And, it was driving her crazy.

She knew Detective McMahon would watch Mulder’s back. If there was one thing she’d learned about the man in the last three days it was that he was desperate for Mulder’s approval. Mulder, of course, didn’t see it that way. But, the young detective was star struck and, whether he wanted to admit it or not, Mulder had become his idol.

Detective McMahon was like a child: absorbing Mulder’s every word like a sponge; mentally noting every action. She had to fight back a smirk every time they were in the same room.

On the drive to the morgue, he’d asked her all about Mulder, wanting to know every detail about the man: how he got started in FBI; was he always this awesome? How does he profile like he does? Was this his usual process?

Mulder had a fan boy. And, although it amused her, it was driving him insane.

 _Serves him right_ , she thought more than once. As often as he’d driven her nuts over the years, it felt like some kind of karmic payback.

Instinctively, her hand would go to the small swell of her belly whenever she thought about it. Maybe, this was some sort of practice for him… in the form of a twenty-nine-year-old man.

“Agent Scully,” the young detective greeted.

“Detective,” she greeted in return. “Where’s Mulder?”

“I dropped him off at the motel. We have some potentially good news,” he said, beaming. “Agent Mulder mentioned your theory about the notes at the crime scenes. Turns out two of our victims got their notes from an anonymous person prior to their death. Gavin Kershaw, our third victim, the law student, got his while in a study group. The note was slipped under the door of one of the study rooms in the campus library.”

“We need access to that study room.”

“Already on it. I have unis meeting us there. The second victim, Andrea Jackson, got hers at work. The person at the front desk took the message while she was in the meeting. Unfortunately, it was a phone call made from a burner phone so we can trace it.”

Scully heaved a sigh. “Why warn your victims?”

“If I had to guess, probably part of the thrill.”

“Maybe…”

“Still. It’s the first break we’ve caught,” he said with a sigh. “Agent Mulder wants to go back to the crime scenes of the other two victims. He didn’t say why, though.”

Scully nodded, thoughtfully before rising from her seat. The detective also rose.

“I’ll swing by the motel and pick up Mulder. We’ll meet you at the crime scene.”

The detective beamed. “I was hoping you’d say that.” Scully arched an eyebrow and McMahon looked slightly embarrassed. “It’s dumb, but this is only my third case as a detective; it’s my first serial killer — hopefully, it’s my _only_ serial killer case, but… well, you guys haven’t made me feel like the loser new guy. I’ve learned a lot from you and Agent Mulder over the last week; stuff that I’ll be able to utilize throughout the rest of my career. I just appreciate it.”

That did it. Scully melted a little on the inside and fought the urge to hug him.

Damn hormones.

* * *

Mulder looked up from the files in front of him when the door to their motel room opened. Scully had an unreadable look on her face and, suddenly, he felt guilty.

“I’m sorry,” he began. “It was come back here or shoot him.” To his surprise, Scully chuckled. “You’re not mad?”

“No, I’m not,” she replied with a grin. “He looks up to you, Mulder.”

Ugh. Why?

He wanted to say it, but refrained. “What are you doing back here?”

“Picking you up. We might have caught a break.”

“What?” He asked, stunned.

“I’ll tell you about it on the way.”

Several students eyed them as they made their way through the university’s library to the study rooms. Some began to crowd around, trying to catch a glance of what the police were doing and the FBI agents along with them.

Scully scanned the growing crowd.

“Get everyone off this floor,” she ordered the uniformed officers.

“Oh, come on,” a student walking by groaned. “I just got here. I have a test tomorrow and the books I need are up here.”

“This floor is a crime scene,” Scully retorted.

“Can I, at least, grab the books I need? Your cops can go with me.” He held out a piece of paper. “Just these three.”

“Sorry,” Mulder said, stepping in before Scully did or said something that would cost her badge. “This floor’s a crime scene. Those books are potential evidence.”

“Can I, at least, get a note for my professor? I can’t afford to fail this class.”

“Officer.” Mulder gestured to the student and a uniformed officer escorted him to the stairs as the student protested the entire way.

When he turned around, Scully was eyeing him hard and he knew he was in trouble.

“I could’ve handled that,” she said sternly before turning around to go back into the small study room.

Mulder could only wince. He was going to pay for that later.

With a sigh, he headed to the librarian who was standing a good distance away.

“Special Agent Fox Mulder,” he said, flashing his badge. “You’re the librarian?”

“Yes,” the older woman said. “Julie Moore.”

“Do you keep a record of the people who use the study rooms?”

“Students can reserve them through the university’s website. We have a sign-in sheet for when they get here.”

“You have the registration sheets?”

“Yes. We print them off and use them as part of the sign in sheet.”

“How far back do you keep them?”

“We shred them at the end of the semester.”

“I’m going to need those records. Detective McMahon has a warrant.”

“I’ve seen the warrant,” she replied. “I’ve already agreed to cooperate as I can.”

“We appreciate that, Ma’am.”

Mulder followed the older woman to the first floor and back into her office.

* * *

“What are we missing, Scully?” Mulder asked when she entered the conference room. “It’s staring me right in the face. I know it is.”

Scully sighed. “Detective McMahon just called. Mulder, there’s been another victim.”

“Damn it!” He growled.

When they arrived at the crime scene, Detective McMahon was there waiting for them.

“Agents,” he greeted somberly, leading them into the apartment and to the body. “Vic’s roommate called it in.” He pointed to a young man in his early twenties who was sitting on the couch. “Says he came home from a some game tournament and found him.” They stopped in front of the body. “Same M.O. Eyes cut out.”

“Was there a note?” Mulder asked as Scully glanced back to the clearly distraught roommate.

“A note?” The roommate interrupted. Scully glanced up to Mulder and the three of them headed to the couch.

“I’m Special Agent Dana Scully. This is Special Agent Mulder and Detective McMahon,” Scully said, pointing to each of them in turn.

“Braydon Cole,” he said.

“Mr. Cole, why don’t you tell us what happened?” She prompted.

“I already told the regular cops, but I was gone for a few days. Um… there was a Magic: The Gathering tournament. I was trying to make Grand Prix.”

“Grand Prix. Nice,” McMahon blurted. Scully and Mulder both turned to look at him. He shrugged and said, “I used to play.”

“So, you get how intense it is,” Braydon said. “Anyway, he called during one of my matches. I missed the call because I was playing, but when I called him back… he was scared. I’ve never seen Evan like that.”

“How long have you been roommates?” Mulder asked.

“Since we graduated high school. We grew up together. He moved in with my family in seventh grade.”

“When Evan called you, what did he say?” Scully asked, keeping the conversation to the point.

“He said that he was watching TV and someone slipped an envelope under the door and knocked, but when he answered there wasn’t anyone around. The envelope had a note in it.”

“Do you know where the note is?”

“Probably in his room. When he read it to me, I told him to call the police. I don’t know if he did it or not, though.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Two days.”

Mulder looked at the detective.

“I’m on it,” McMahon said, already pulling out his phone and walking away to place the call.

“Mr. Cole,” Mulder began, “Do you know if Evan had any enemies? Was he dating anyone?”

“I don’t think he had any enemies and, no, he wasn’t dating anyone. He rarely left the apartment. He, um, he had PTSD. He was incredibly anxious and depressed. He didn’t really like new people.”

“PTSD?” Mulder asked. “What happened?”

“Uh…” he said, with a sigh. “His dad was a piece of work. He was incredibly abusive. Verbally and physically. Evan grew up around domestic violence. His mom finally left when we were ten but she left him behind.” Scully must have made a face because Braydon added, “she was also a drug addict at the time. They both were. Evan basically raised himself. Anyway, he went to see his dad when he got into college. Y’know, he wanted him to be proud.”

“But, he wasn’t.”

“He raged out,” Braydon replied. “Beat him within an inch of his life. Literally. Evan wasn’t the same after that. He avoided people — except for my family. Ended up dropping out of during freshman year.” Braydon paused before quietly adding, “A lot of people chalked him up to being lazy. But, he wasn’t. He was scared. His depression and anxiety… he couldn’t get past it.”

“Did he have a job?” Scully asked.

“On and off. Couldn’t really keep one, though. Not until he started freelancing, anyway.”

“What did he do?” Mulder asked.

“Web design. It paid well, he didn’t need a degree to freelance — his portfolio spoke for itself, and he could it from home.”

Scully glanced up at Mulder. She could see the wheels turning in his head.

“Thank you, Mr. Cole,” she said, handing him her card. “Give us a call if you think of anything else.”

“I will,” he said and sat back down on the couch.

“What are you thinking, Mulder?” She asked, following him toward Evan’s body.

“I thought this was ritualistic,” he said. “Now, I’m not so sure.”

“The removal of the eyes would suggest it.”

“Yeah, but what’s he doing with the eyes?”

“Trophies, maybe?”

“Maybe.” He pursed his lips together, thinking. “You do the autopsy. Maybe, you’ll catch something that the M.E. missed with the other victims.”

Scully scoffed. “Like what?”

“That’s your area; not mine.” She frowned and Mulder sighed. “There’s a connection somewhere. We have to find it before this guy can kill again.”

“Okay,” she sighed.

“I’ll have the body shipped to Quantico.”

“Mulder…” she warned.

He grinned. “I promise I’m not being overprotective. You have access to things at the lab there that you don’t here. Maybe, the change in scenery will give us some answers.”

Scully frowned, but he didn’t wait around for her protest.


	10. Chapter 10

Scully heaved a sigh as she entered her apartment. Her feet and back ached. She was exhausted. Quite frankly, she just wanted to go to take a nice, long, hot bath and go to bed.

The autopsy on Evan Conrad revealed nothing, much to Mulder’s frustration. She half-expected him to put in a call to the Gunmen at this point. Not that they would be much help with nothing to go on. Still, Mulder was frustrated and desperate enough that Scully wouldn’t put it past him.

She checked her messages. There was one from her mother telling her to call her when she was back in town, but Scully didn’t want to deal with whatever it was at the moment. The next message was from a real estate agent that Scully knew for a fact she didn’t call. Mulder must have, she deduced. But, why would he give the real estate agent _her_ number?

Scully’s stomach growled in protest and she realized that she hadn’t eaten anything since lunch nearly eight hours ago. Not wanting to cook anything, she put in a call for Chinese food and decided to forego the bath in favor of a shower.

She’d barely gotten out of the shower and gotten dressed when her dinner arrived. Not bothering to take it to the kitchen, she sat on the couch and flicked on the TV.

* * *

Mulder stared at the file before him, frustrating himself as he wracked his brain for the missing link. He could practically hear Scully’s voice in his head imploring him to call it a night and join her in bed. But, she was back in Washington.

He was glad for that. Mulder knew that it frustrated her to no end that he was adamant about keeping her out of the field. It wasn’t that he didn’t think she was capable; he knew she was capable — _more than_ capable. But, he was also concerned about their child.

Mulder grinned as his brain drifted to their child forming in Scully’s womb. He was going to be a father. He’s never really given the idea much thought after Samantha’s abduction. He’d devoted his life to finding his sister. Fox Mulder: Family Man didn’t fit with that life.

He’d never counted on meeting Scully. In fact, if someone had told him even three years ago that they would be engaged, house hunting, and expecting a baby, he’d have laughed. But, there they were: engaged, house hunting, and expecting a baby. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Mulder set the file down and picked up his phone to call her.

“Scully.”

“Hey, Scully, it’s me.”

“It’s late, Mulder,” she said with a hint of chastisement in her tone. He smiled at that.

“I know. I promise, I’m not at the precinct. I’m back at the motel.”

“Have you found anything else?”

He sighed. “No. How’d the autopsy go?”

He heard her sigh. “I didn’t find anything out of the ordinary.”

Mulder held up the note the uniformed officers found in Evan Conrad’s bedroom.

“Mulder?”

“I’m here. I was just thinking. Sorry. Hey, Scully, what do you think this means ‘no more excuses hidden by the pretext of difficulty’?”

“I’m not sure. What is it?”

“It’s the note found in Evan Conrad’s bedroom; the one the killer slid under the door.”

“It could be anything,” Scully sighed on the other end of the phone.

“It’s specific. I’m sure of that.”

“Specific to what, Mulder? Evan Conrad? The method of murder employed by our killer?”

“I don’t know. All I know is that it’s important.”

“I’d say all of the notes are important,” she deadpanned.

Mulder frowned. Scully sighed a resigned sigh.

“Pretext of difficulty,” she repeated. “Do you think it has something to do with the domestic violence he saw? What the roommate said?”

“Could be.” He thought for a moment. “I’ll have Mike do a check to see if any of the other victims are victims of domestic violence.”

“In the morning.”

He grinned at that. “In the morning,” he repeated. He paused. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too. I’ll fly back after I finish my report.”

“No, Scully. Just go ahead and stay there.”

“Mulder…”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“What’s going on with you lately?” She asked.

“I don’t know,” he confessed. “I just keep thinking about the kid and I don’t know. I just want you to be careful.”

“I _am_ being careful, Mulder.” She heaved a sigh before continuing. “I know you’re being protective. I love you for that,” she said, causing him to smile, “but, you know as well as I do that if I wasn’t pregnant, I’d have flown back tonight.”

Mulder winced. She was right.

“Okay, okay. I’ll drop it.”

“Thank you.”

“Mostly.”

“Mulder…”

“Dropping it.”

After a moment, Mulder heard her yawn.

“I’m going to go to bed,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.” Quickly, he said, “Hey, Scully?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too, Mulder.”

“Goodnight,” he said.

“Goodnight.”

With that, she disconnected the call. He let out a sigh, with every intention of being the one to pick her up at the airport.

Mulder turned his attention back to the file. He’d sleep when Scully was beside him.

* * *

Mulder was a ball of anxious energy as he waited for Scully’s plane to land. He’d hoped to pick her up alone, greet her with a long kiss. But, the enthusiastic detective stood beside him, slurping his soda from lunch.

“There she is!” Mike said, pointing to Scully as though Mulder hadn’t already spotted her. Mike took a step toward her, but Mulder stopped him.

“Why don’t you pull your car around? I’ll go with her to get her luggage and we’ll meet you in a bit. She hates airports. The faster we get out of here, the better.”

“Okie doke!” He said, scampering off toward the exit.

Scully smiled when she spotted him walking toward her. It was a smile that started in her eyes and it damn near killed him, making his heart skip a beat or six.

“Hey,” she greeted as he approached.

“Hey,” he said, leaning in for the awaited kiss. She backed away, giving him the we’re-in-public look. “I sent Eager Beaver to get the car.” Scully smirked and he took the opportunity to get his kiss. To his surprise, she returned it. He tucked a strand behind her ear and said, “I missed you.”

She chuckled and retorted, “I was gone less than twenty-four hours.”

“Yeah, but I sleep better when you’re next to me.”

Scully arched an eyebrow. “ _Did_ you sleep?”

“No,” he confessed. She frowned. “Not for lack of trying,” Mulder said defensively but she didn’t seem to buy it. “I promise, I’m taking care of myself.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” she said in disbelief, causing him to grin.

“C’mon. Let’s get your stuff and we can get out of here.”

Scully let out a sigh and nodded.

“How was your flight?” He asked, his hand resting on the small of her back as they waited on her suitcase.

“Smoother than the flight back to D.C.,” she replied.

“Still hate flying?”

“I’ll always hate flying.”

He laughed at that. He noticed her look around before she asked, “I had a message from a real estate agent when I got home.”

Oh, yeah. He’d meant to tell her about that.

“Yeah, I, uh, gave her both of our numbers.”

“You found a place?” She asked in surprise.

“Possibly. I just wanted to look at it. It had a nice yard for the kid. Good neighborhood. Great schools. Park nearby.”

“Sounds expensive.”

“I’ve told you before that we don’t have to worry about that. I sold my parents’ houses. Plus, my inheritance. Plus, our paychecks. We have plenty of money.”

He watched her stiffen. For some reason, Scully was having a hard time with the what’s-mine-is-yours mentality. He couldn’t fathom why, aside from her independence; that frustrating but incredibly sexy aspect of her personality. Still, he _wanted_ to take care of her — even when she didn’t want him to do it.

“Let’s just take a look at it when we get back?” He said before dropping the subject. Scully only nodded. He knew that nod. She didn’t want to have this conversation right now. It wasn’t the time or place, he concluded.

Neither of them said another word as he led her out of the airport, his hand in its proper place on the small of her back and her suitcase in his hand. Mike was waiting for them by the door. Mulder heard the trunk pop and he was hopping out of the car to greet Scully.

His enthusiasm made Mulder wonder if the detective had a crush. Why wouldn’t he? Scully was a brilliant, patient, and incredibly beautiful woman. Mulder was reminded every day how lucky he was to, not only have managed to get her to fall in love with him, but also that she’d agreed to spend the rest of her life with him.

They stopped at a diner on the way back to the precinct before Hangry Scully could make an appearance.

The chowed down in a comfortable silence. Mulder and Mike munching on burgers and fries while Scully ate something stereotypically healthier; although, it didn’t stop her from stealing Mulder’s fries or eyeing his burger.

He wondered if the baby had inherited his eating habits.

“What?” Mike asked. He must’ve noticed the grin on Mulder’s face.

Mulder shook his head. “Nothing.” He glanced to Scully to see that she, too, was looking at him suspiciously. He fought he urge to kiss that look right off her face.

She must’ve picked up on what he was thinking because she smirked and stole another fry, holding his gaze as she popped it into her mouth.

“So, I was thinking,” Mike said, unwittingly ruining the moment. “What if our killer is religious?”

“That would be ironic,” Mulder quipped before taking a massive bite of his food. Mike frowned and Scully shook her head.

“I’m actually being serious. I was reading this book and it mentioned something in passing about a devil eye, which got me thinking: what if that’s why the killer cut out their eyeballs? Window into the soul kind of thing. It would fit the ritualistic nature of the killings.”

“Could be,” Scully replied as Mulder chewed his food. “It doesn’t explain how the victims are chosen, though.”

“It might,” he replied. “We know that two of our victims were religious.”

“Yeah,” Mulder said, “But, Gavin Kershaw was an atheist, according to his father.”

“ _But_ , he grew up in church,” Mike countered.

Mulder felt Scully’s gaze on him.

“It’s worth considering,” she said. She took a sip of her drink and added, “According to the reports I have, all of the crime scenes have one thing in common.”

“A victim?” Mulder quipped.

Scully glared in response as she said, “A message: ‘Dark is the Way; Light is the Place’. If there’s a religious element to this case, that would certainly fit with it.”

“How so?” Mike asked.

“Well,” she began, “if the killer believes the victims are living in sin, they’re on some sort of dark path.”

“Light, as a place, being… what? Heaven?” Mike asked.

“Not necessarily,” she said. “Redemption, maybe. If the sin is purged from their life, they would be redeemed.”

“What about the eyes, though?” The young detective asked, leaning forward on the table. Scully had his undivided attention.

“Like you said, could be a window into the soul kind of thing.”

Mike visibly deflated. It wasn’t the answer he was looking for.

“At the very least,” Mulder interjected, “it gives us a new angle to pursue.”

Mike’s eyes lit up again.

* * *

Mulder opened the door to their motel room and waited for Scully to enter first. It had been a long day; a long, tedious, mostly unproductive day. He flopped on the bed as Scully grabbed some clothes from her suitcase.

“I’m going to take a shower,” she announced and made for the bathroom.

“Want some company?” He asked. She halted and faced him with a frown.

“Am I going to need to get my own room?”

“I’ll behave,” he replied quickly, eliciting a smirk from her.

“You better,” she warned with a smirk before padding into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

Mulder heaved a sigh as the sound of the running water resounded in the room. He flicked on the TV, trying to numb his brain like Mike had suggested. It didn’t work like he’d hoped.

After awhile, Scully emerged from the bathroom, wearing one of his t-shirts. God, he loved seeing her like that. He wondered if she knew it.

“Shower’s free,” she said.

“Did you save me any hot water?” He chuckled, noting the pink of her skin.

“Maybe,” she replied flirtatiously.

Mulder watched as Scully went through her nightly routine. Face mask. Brushing her teeth. It was a simple, mundane thing but he enjoyed it. He liked seeing her set aside her work persona in favor of the woman he was going to marry.

He grinned at that. It still astounded him that Scully had agreed to marry him, that she was in love with him. If he was being honest, he didn’t think he’d ever get used to it; he didn’t _want_ to get used to it.

“What?” She asked, sounding somewhat self-conscious, as she climbed into bed.

“I was just thinking about marrying you,” he replied with a grin and covered her lips with his, kissing her languidly.

“Mulder,” she breathed.

“Yeah?” He said, reclaiming her lips.

“Mulder,” she said, pulling away from him. He studied her face, concerned for a moment. “We’re on a case.”

He chuckled. “Scully, we’re engaged and we’re having a baby together and the FBI knows that.”

“I know but, Mulder, it’s important to me to stay professional where work is concerned — especially, in the field.” Before he could protest, she added, “Even if no one else knew, I would.”

Mulder could see her seriousness and concern in her beautiful blue eyes. Resigned, he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and said, “I know.” He sighed and added, “I’m ready to go home.”

Scully smirked as though she could read his mind.

“I know,” she replied, cupping his face in her hand, “I am, too.”

He pressed another, lingering kiss to her lips before pulling away.

“I’m going to take a shower. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

When he came out of the bathroom, Scully was sitting up in bed reading. That was another thing he loved about her: his woman was a bookworm.

He wondered for a moment if their child would be, too. He hoped so.

He climbed in bed beside her and she marked her place.

“You don’t have to stop reading,” he said softly.

“I finished the chapter, anyway,” she replied as she set the book on the bedside table and flicked out the light.

They laid in silence for a moment before Mulder rolled over to put his arm around her and pressed a kiss to her shoulder.

“Let’s get married when we get back to D.C.,” he said softly.

“Okay,” she replied sleepily.

“Really?”

“Mmhmm.” Mulder heard her yawn before she added, “We’ll have to get a few days off approved, though.”

“I can wait for those days to be approved,” he replied quietly. “I meant it when I said that I didn’t want to get married and then turn around and go to work.”

“I don’t want that either,” she said, turning to face him. He felt her finger trace his jaw for a moment before she pulled him in for a quick kiss and snuggled into his chest.

“What do you want to do for a honeymoon?” He asked.

She sighed. “Mulder, right now, I just want to go to sleep.”

He nodded. “I can live with that.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead before letting her return to her side of the bed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ignore any typos. I'll go back and try to find any that I missed when I've had a chance to be away from the screen for awhile. :)

Scully woke well before the alarm and rolled over to face her sleeping partner. He’d made his way to the middle of the bed in his sleep but managed to keep to himself. Part of her wasn’t sure if she was impressed by that feat or disappointed that she didn’t wake in his arms. Either way, he looked handsome sleeping peacefully.

God, she couldn’t wait until this case was over. She wanted to go home, snuggle into him on the couch as they watched a movie together. It had only been a little over a week, but it felt like forever since they could just be a couple.

“Now who’s staring?” He asked without opening his eyes, his voice husky from sleep. Scully smiled.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied. He grinned; his eyes still closed.

“What time is it?”

She reached out to run her finger along his jaw. “Early,” she replied and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Go back to sleep.”

“I will if you will,” he replied, maneuvering so the she was lying in his arms. Scully rested her head against his chest, shutting her eyes and inhaling his musky scent.

It wasn’t long before they drifted back to sleep for a couple more hours.

* * *

Mulder woke to the sound of the alarm and the weight of Scully on his chest. With a groan, he slapped the snooze button.

“Morning,” she said, nestling impossibly closer to him.

“Morning,” he replied, holding her tightly to him. “I don’t want to get up.”

“We have to,” she sighed, although neither of them made any move to do so.

“Can we call in while we’re on a case?”

Scully chuckled into his chest before pressing her lips to it. “I wish.”

“We need a day off.”

“We can’t take one.”

“I know, but that doesn’t mean I don’t wish we could.” He pressed a kiss to her hair and said, “we could lay around all day. Watch TV. Only move to accept take out from the delivery boy. It’s not the same as being home, but it’d still be nice.”

“Yeah…”

They laid that way for a few more minutes before Scully moved out of his embrace, Mulder groaning in reluctance to let her go.

“The sooner we solve this case, the sooner we can go home,” she said enticingly.

“Ugh, fine.”

He looked up to see her shaking her head with a grin.

* * *

Another long day of poring over files and Mulder was no closer to creating a profile than he was when he’d arrived. Sure, he’d made some notes, but the latest victim seemed to contradict some of them.

He heaved a sigh. For as much as he hated to admit it, this guy was good.

Mulder glanced over to Scully to find a thoughtful look on her face.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” she replied before looking up at him.

“Did you find something?”

“Maybe.”

“Scully, I’m dying here.”

“Seth McBride, our second victim… what did his note say?”

“Um…” Mulder, replied moving some papers in an attempt to find the note. Finally, he spotted it. “‘There is no sincerer love than the love of food’.” He looked up at her and could practically see the wheels turning in her head. “What is it?”

“Mulder, Seth McBride was bulimic.”

“Okay?”

“According to her coworkers, Andrea Jackson was a workaholic.”

“I’m not following,” he confessed.

“If Detective McMahon is right and our killer is religious, if he’s exposing sin so-to-speak, what if he’s going after people whom he believes represent the seven deadly sins?”

Mulder thought for a moment, but he still didn’t see it.

“I don’t know, Scully; it’s a pretty big leap. Only two of the victims were religious. It still doesn’t explain the removal of the eyes.”

“Unless, Detective McMahon was right about the window of the soul thing.”

She had him there.

“Okay, let’s say you’re right and this guy is going after the seven deadly sins, what do we have so far?”

“Well, Seth McBride could represent gluttony.” Mulder must have made a face because she elaborated. “He wasn’t overweight, but he wouldn’t be if he was purging.”

“Okay.”

“Andrea Jackson could represent greed.”

“Or lust,” he countered, thinking back to her message.

“Or lust,” she agreed.

“Evan Conrad would be, what, sloth?”

“I think that’s a fair assessment. His roommate said that he was often mistaken for being lazy.”

“Okay,” he said, moving to the white board. He picked up a marker and began a list. “So, we have sloth, gluttony, either greed or lust. What else?”

“Um…” Scully pulled up another victim. “Gavin Kershaw was known to have a temper. Wrath?”

Mulder nodded as he wrote down the next sin, “That’s four.”

“Brittany Reid. Her ex said that she was notoriously jealous.”

“Envy,” he said, writing it down.

He studied the list. When he actually looked at it, it sort of made sense.

“So what does that leave?” he asked. Scully rose from her seat and stood beside him, staring at the whiteboard herself.

“Well, we don’t know if Andrea Jackson represents greed or lust, but pride is the only thing not up there.”

“So, by this assessment, we have at least one victim before he’s done. Probably, two.” He heaved a sigh and returned to his seat. “To what end, Scully? If he completes his cycle, what then?”

Scully returned his sigh and leaned against the table. “I don’t know.”

“There _has_ to be some kind of a connection. There’s no way he’s picking them at random. Even stalking them, he would see something about them to make them prey.”

A knock at the door interrupted them and Mike entered.

“What is it, Detective?” Scully asked.

“A note,” he said cautiously. “It was sent to the precinct.”

Mulder rose from his seat to retrieve the note from Mike. With a frustrated sigh, he handed it to Scully.

“Dark is the Way; Light is the Place,” she read aloud.

“He’s watching us,” Mulder growled.

“That’s what I thought, too,” Mike sighed. “You think he was at the crime scenes?”

“Probably,” Mulder replied.

He braced his hands on the table and focused on his breathing before he threw something across the room.

“Who the hell is this guy?” He growled in frustration.

“You don’t think he’s coming after a cop, do you?” Mike said with an anxious tone in his voice. “You don’t think he’s that stupid?”

“I don’t know,” Mulder confessed.

There was a moment of silence before Mike asked, “What’s all this?”

Mulder looked up to see him standing in front of the whiteboard.

“We were working out a possible theory,” Scully explained.

“Seven deadly sins?”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “Did you hear back about any of the other victims being involved in domestic violence?”

Mike let out a sigh. “If they were, it wasn’t reported. Unfortunately.”

The three of them stood in silence for several minutes before Mike mentioned taking a break, adding something about walking away from a puzzle to clear his head.

When he left the room, Scully looked at Mulder.

“Detective McMahon has a point,” she said. “We should probably take a break.”

“We can’t take a break now,” Mulder sighed.

“Mulder, we’re not going to find this guy if we run ourselves into the ground. Let’s… take a walk; get something to eat. We’ll come back to it in a couple of hours.”

“What happens if he kills someone in the meantime?” Mulder challenged. Scully, to her credit, didn’t take the bait. Rather, she gave him a look that said she wasn’t about to argue with him.

“If you want to stay here, then stay here. _I_ need a break. Do you want me to bring you back anything?”

Mulder stared at her for a moment before heaving a sigh.

“I don’t want you going alone.”

Scully smirked and said, “Then, I guess, you’ll have to take that break after all.”

Normally, he might have chuckled; but, this time, he couldn’t. He glanced back to the whiteboard before returning his gaze to her. Scully’s features softened and she walked toward him.

“There’s a diner down the street,” she said softly, running a hand up and down his arm. “Let’s get something to eat and then we’ll come back and attack this.” He nodded and she smiled. Lowering her voice, she said, “Good because your kid is demanding something fried.”

He couldn’t help but to chuckle at that. Mulder poked her belly, causing her to laugh as he said, “Give it to me straight, kid. Do _you_ want something fried or does _Mommy_ want something fried?” He glanced up to Scully and playfully said, “I think _Mommy_ wants something fried.”

Scully smiled widely at him and, suddenly, he felt like an ass. She probably _did_ need a break. Her pregnancy left her easily exhausted and had since the beginning.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“For what?”

“Not paying attention to you.”

She chuffed a laugh. “Mulder, you’ve done nothing _but_ pay attention. Too much, sometimes.”

“Yeah, but you needed a break and I didn’t see that.”

“You didn’t see it because I didn’t want you to see it. I wasn’t exactly ready to stop, either.”

It didn’t make him feel better.

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s feed our child.”

He couldn’t help but to grin as she led the way out of the conference room.

As they walked down the street, Mulder couldn’t help but feel like they were being watched. He was pretty sure that it was his paranoia, knowing that the killer had gotten bold enough to send a note to the precinct; knowing that he was likely threatening a cop.

What if the killer _was_ a cop?

Suddenly, he didn’t have an appetite.

“Are you okay?” Scully asked, slowing them to a stop a few feet from the diner. “You look flushed,” she said, reaching a hand to his forehead.

“I just had a thought that I _really_ don’t like.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll tell you later,” he said.

“Mulder…”

“Trust me. I don’t want anyone to overhear it because, if I’m right, this is worse than we thought.”

Scully studied him for a moment before nodding.

“Why don’t we get take our food back to the motel?”

He caught her drift and nodded his agreement.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a delay. Real life has thoroughly kicked my ass over the last week.

“A cop?” Scully asked with a deadly seriousness in present in her voice. “Mulder, if that’s true…”

“I know.”

“You don’t think..." she began slowly. "You don't think it’s Detective McMahon, do you?”

God, she hoped not.

“No,” he replied with a sigh, much to Scully’s relief. “Mike’s been harassing me most of the time and when he hasn’t, he’s either been with you or at his desk.”

She exhaled a breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“Plus, I don’t think he has it in him; he’s too idealistic." Mulder exhaled a heavy breath. "That doesn’t eliminate the rest of the precinct, though.”

“We’ll need a list of all law enforcement personnel present at the crime scenes."

“I was thinking the same thing.”

They sat at the small table in an uncomfortable silence, each merely picking at their food and mulling over the implications.

“What if you’re wrong?” Scully finally asked. “Maybe, the killer isn’t a cop.”

“God, I hope he’s not,” he replied. Mulder let out a sigh. “We’ll just have to wait for the list.”

Wordlessly, he rose from his seat and Scully watched as he flopped on the bed. After a moment, she joined him; albeit more gracefully. She laid on her side, facing him, and Mulder draped an arm over her waist. Scully, in turn, wrapped one arm around his torso and the other snaked it’s way under his head, her fingers playing with the hair at the base of his skull.

They stayed that way for several minutes, their food forgotten and appetites long gone.

“I’ll look over the M.E.’s reports again. Maybe, I missed something in there that—.”

“I love you for that,” Mulder said and pressed a kiss to her forehead before continuing. “But, we both know you didn’t miss anything. You’ve been poring over those reports for a week. You’ve practically memorized them.”

“We’ll go back over the files when we get back to the precinct.” She shifted to move, but Mulder held her tighter, keeping her in place. “Mulder?”

“I just… I need to hold you for a minute.”

Scully sighed and relaxed into him, leaning her head into his clavicle and moving her hand from his torso to his chest and up to his face, tracing his jaw softly with her finger.

* * *

“You’re not serious,” Mike said, visibly disgusted by the notion of what Mulder was suggesting. “A _cop_. It’s absurd.”

“I’m not saying the killer _is_ a cop,” Mulder retorted. “I’m saying it’s possible.”

Scully stepped in before fists could fly. “Either way, we need to keep this between the three of us until we know for sure one way or another.”

Mike scoffed. “You want me to investigate my own people?”

“No,” Mulder said, “Not yet. I just need a list of all the law enforcement personnel who were at the crime scenes. Including CSU. The sooner we rule them out, the better.”

Mike looked between them in disbelief but sighed his concession.

“Okay. But, I don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to,” Mulder retorted.

“Mulder...” Scully sighed in that tone of hers that he both loved and hated; the one that told him to check himself before he did something stupid. She was right. He wasn’t helping the situation.

* * *

Scully watched her partner from outside the conference room as he stared intently at the papers before him. After a moment, he turned to write on the notepad. He did this several times and she couldn’t help but to wonder what was going through that brain of his. Mulder had that look on his face. She wasn't sure how she felt about it.

“Do you think he’s right?” Mike asked in a low voice from beside her. Scully looked up to meet his gaze. She hadn't realized that he was standing there. “About the killer?” There was a pained, desperate look in his eyes that begged her to say Mulder was wrong.

If only she could.

“I don’t know,” she confessed. “But, we don’t like the idea any more than you do.”

“No, I know,” he replied with a sigh. “I’m sorry if I gave that impression. It’s just…” he paused before exhaling a heavy breath as he glanced around the bullpen. “I’ve known these people for three years — some of ‘em longer. It makes me sick is all.”

“I know,” she replied softly. “Let’s just focus on ruling everyone out, okay?”

He nodded like a shy teenager and Scully couldn’t help but to wonder how many times she’d see a similar expression on her own child’s face. She wasn’t so foolish as to hope the answer was never. Briefly, she pondered that look with the addition of Mulder's pouty lip.

If her child inherited his or her father's pouty lip and puppy eyes, she was going to be in trouble.

They watched Mulder work for a few more minutes before entering the conference room.

“How goes it?” Mike asked, sitting in the chair directly across the table from Mulder.

“Well, I have two potential profiles. I’m not thrilled about either one.”

“Lay ‘em on me,” Mike replied as Scully took the seat on the end of the table, between the men.

Mulder went through both profiles and Scully watched as the young detective blanched when Mulder read off the “if we’re dealing with a cop” theoretical scenario. She didn’t like any more than either one of them did.

Mike let out a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair.

“I know,” Mulder sighed. Scully fought the urge to run her fingers through his hair and wrap her arms around him.

_Huh._

It had never been this difficult before to keep her hands to herself. She chose to blame her ever-changing hormones and rested hands on the table. Scully glanced to the clock. It was almost seven and she was getting hungry.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I need to walk away for awhile,” Mike said with a sigh. Scully noted that his tone was a little shaky. She glanced up to Mulder, wondering if he had noticed, too. If he did, it didn’t show. “Let’s regroup in the morning,” Mike continued. "I don't... I can't..." He swallowed hard.

“Yeah,” Mulder sighed in agreement. Scully arched an eyebrow, surprised that he was willingly calling it a night. At seven at night.

She knew better than to hope for it to last the entire night. Knowing Mulder, he’d hit some stroke of genius and she’d wake up alone in the morning. Right now, though, she’d take it.

* * *

When they got back to the motel, Mulder flipped on the TV while Scully got her things together for a shower. The pizza was on the way, but he wasn’t that hungry. He was too keyed up to eat.

If he had his way, they would return to Washington for a couple of days, clear their heads, and come back ready to solve this thing. Unfortunately, he knew that time wasn’t on their side. It seemed that this killer’s cooling off period was shortening. Whether that meant that the killer was getting bold or anxious and slipping up or if he was challenging them, daring them to find him, Mulder couldn’t say for certain.

Either way, he didn’t like it and they knew for certain that only two sins, if they were right, were left. That meant there were potentially two more victims and no possible way to predict when the killer would strike.

Then, what?

Would the killer start over? If so, how long did they have before that happened? Would he be done entirely? It wasn’t likely; especially, if this _was_ ritualistic.

Mulder didn’t realize that he’d moved from the bed to the small table in the corner of the room until Scully was running her fingers through his hair and asking him something that he didn’t catch.

“Mulder,” she said, her hand ceasing to massage his scalp, but rubbed her hand across his shoulder blades. He turned to face her, finding an expectant -- if not, somewhat concerned -- look on her face.

He heaved a sigh. “I’m sorry. I just got a thought and I wanted to look over this again.”

She smirked and he must have made a confused face because her smirk turned to a grin and then a chuckle before she said, “I asked if you ordered the pizza.”

He hung his head and let out a chuckle. “Yeah. Should be here any time.”

Scully pressed a kiss to his forehead and sat in the chair beside him. “What did you notice?”

“I don’t know that I _noticed_ anything, but I started thinking about his cooling off period.” She arched an intrigued eyebrow and he continued, “Brittany Reid was our first victim. She was killed three months before Seth McBride, our second victim. Andrea Jackson was killed three months later. Gavin Kershaw, on the other hand, was killed two weeks before we got here. Evan Conrad was killed in the last week.” He heaved a sigh. “He’s escalating. We got that note a few days ago. We could have a few hours to a few months before we get another victim.”

“How long were the notes sent before they were killed?” Scully asked carefully.

“I don’t know. All we know for sure is that Evan Conrad got his note two days before he was killed.”

They held each other’s gaze for a moment, weighing the implications of this possible revelation. The knock on the door startled them. Scully exhaled an anxious breath before rising from her seat.

“I’ll get it,” she said.

“Money’s on the table on my side,” Mulder replied, moving to pick up the files so she had a place to set their pizza.

After paying the delivery kid, Scully set the pizza on the table. Her gasp got his attention.

“What is it?” He asked.

She looked up with a look in her eyes that Mulder never wanted to see again.

“Scully?”

He moved quickly to her, barely registering the note in her hand until she handed it to him. Mulder felt the blood drain from his face when he looked at it.

_Take your chance. Wave and grin. So many guys just play with sin._

Underneath the typed note was something new: an incredibly detailed eye, drawn in black ink.

Devil eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the people who have asked, YES I am on twitter and tumblr and all that.
> 
> Twitter: @catebatman  
> Tumblr: @RationalCashew


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ignore typos. I've been doing this fic on my phone/ipad since I'm on the go so much right now and I don't always catch it when autocorrect gets me until I step away and come back to it.

Scully sat alone in the conference room, stewing. Mulder was the next target. Her partner. Her fiancé. The father of her unborn child.

The man she loved.

They had to find this asshole. Fast.

She was _not_ going to risk raising this child without him; she was not going to be widowed before she even had a chance to marry him. They hadn’t survived all the things they’d survived for it to end like this.

Scully would kill the bastard herself to protect her family.

She just had to find him first.

“Hey, Babe,” Mulder sighed entering the conference room. While she didn’t mind certain pet names in certain situations, that one always got under her skin and he knew it. Scully knew that, sometimes, he just couldn’t help himself and they spilled from his mouth without him realizing it. This time, however, it was his tone that gave him away. It was the tone that used when he was about to do something particularly stupid, had already done something particularly stupid, or was seriously considering doing something particularly stupid.

She glared in response and he winced. He knew exactly what she was thinking and the look in his eyes told her as much.

“Mulder…”

“I want you to go home,” he said with a tone she didn’t like.

“I don’t think so!” She bit back, crossing her arms for emphasis.

“Scul-.”

“No, Mulder,” she said, daring him to challenge her on it.

Fear must have won the battle for dominance in his mind because he didn’t back down.

“Scully, he sent the note in with the pizza boy! To our _motel room_!” There was a desperation in Mulder’s voice that she couldn’t deny nor with which she could argue, but it only added to her fury. “He knows about us! I can guarantee that.” Mulder stepped closer and said, firmly, “I won't risk you or the baby getting hurt.”

“I won’t risk _you_ getting _killed_!” She snapped back, tears stinging her eyes; whether from her pregnancy hormones or the gravity of the situation, she couldn’t say. She let out a sigh and added, “This baby needs his or her father. Damn it, Mulder, _I_ need you, too.”

“Well, that explains a hell of a lot,” a voice said, startling them. Mike stood in the doorway, holding what looked like a box of donuts, and a frown on his face. Scully wondered just how much of their conversation he'd heard. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

Okay, it couldn’t have been too long, she deduced silently.

Mulder let out a sigh and Scully rubbed her now-throbbing forehead.

“We got another note last night,” Mulder said.

“You waited until _now_ to say something?” Mike asked, dropping the box on the table. “What the hell, man? It's nine in the morning!”

“It was sent to him,” Scully elaborated, feeling a sudden sense of solidarity with the young detective. His eyes widened in surprise.

“What?”

“Turns out he’s not just after a cop, he’s after a federal agent,” she said pointedly. Mulder’s jaw clenched at her words.

Their discussion was far from over and she wanted to make damn sure that he knew it.

“So, you gotta go back to Washington,” Mike said, slinking into the nearest chair.

Scully was liking this guy more and more by the second.

“No. _Scully_ needs to go back to Washington,” Mulder said decisively.

“Muld-!”

“No, Scully. I’m not risking it.”

She half-expected him to add a “that’s final” to the end of his statement, but he seemed to have more sense than that.

“Neither am I,” she bit back. She hadn’t wanted to make this personal — especially when they were at the precinct and, specifically, not in front of Detective McMahon. They didn’t need to be dragging their personal life into it.

But, this wasn’t just professional. It _was_ personal. Scully refused to sit idly by, in an apartment several states away, while he played the bait--wait.

Suddenly, she felt nauseous as it dawned on her. The son of a bitch was planning to use himself as bait. Anger flared inside of her.

Before she could rip him a new one, Detective McMahon interjected.

“Here’s a thought: why don’t _both_ of you go back for a few days? You work the case from there and I can work it from this end. We can collaborate over the phone.”

Okay, that was an idea she could get behind.

“Mike, I know you’re new to serial killer investigations but he could retaliate if we ran away from this,” Mulder said.

“Dude,” Mike replied, leaning forward on his elbows, “I respect you and I appreciate everything I’ve learned from you…”

“But?”

“ _But_ , I don’t think your lady is going to let you use yourself as bait,” he said, tossing a pointed glance to Scully that made her cheeks burn, “and, I sure as hell am not going to risk it. If you’re right and we’re looking at a cop, you won’t come out of this. We don’t have a clue who it is, but it’s someone who's been trained well. If we’re looking at someone from profile number two, it gets messy. Either way, doesn't look good for you and, after what I walked into when I got here...”

Scully's cheeks burned but, when she looked up at him, Mulder refused to meet her gaze. She let out a sigh. "Mulder, he's right..."

Mulder only glared at her in return, the muscles in his jaw flexing wildly.

“Until we have something more to go on…” Detective McMahon exhaled a breath. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be here.” Mulder opened his mouth to protest but the young detective cut him off. “Look, you’re both scared and this guy is going to use that. You know it and I know it and she knows it. Come back in a few days. In the meantime, we can collaborate over the phone. I’ll drive you to the airport myself.”

Scully watched as Mulder mulled over the suggestion. She half-expected for him to pull rank on Mike and, if he did, she wasn’t above going over Mulder's head and calling Skinner to keep him from doing something stupid.

He must’ve known what she was thinking because he let out a frustrated growl but nodded his concession. Scully felt herself relax.

“Fine. We’ll head back to the motel and check out. I’ll call you with the flight details.”

“Good call,” Mike said.

* * *

Mulder angrily threw his toiletries into his suitcase, completely ignoring the look Scully was sending his way. If he met her gaze now, it would only end in a knock-down-drag-out argument. He was pissed off, but he didn’t want to fight with her, either. She didn’t need the added stress.

Not in her condition.

She’d kill him herself if she knew what he was thinking.

But, he was going to protect her at all cost and he couldn’t fathom why she refused to understand or accept that.

“Mulder,” she said softly. He clenched his jaw and shut his eyes before looking at her. The worry showed all over her face and he was powerless to resist it.

With a sigh, he crossed over to her and pulled her tightly to him. Her arms wrapped around his torso, holding onto him equally as tight. He pressed a kiss to her hair before resting his cheek against the top of her head.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” he said softly. She began to sob against him as he held her. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shameless self-promotion (mostly because I've been asked about a couple of these):
> 
> YES! I am on things. lol Feel free to follow/sub anything listed below.
> 
> Twitter: @catebatman  
> Tumblr: @rationalcashew  
> Instagram: @rationalcashew  
> Youtube: youtube.com/catebatman (this is listed as RationalCashew, but the link is catebatman -- I'm in the process of rebranding as of summer 2019)  
> Twitch: twitch.tv/catebatman


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some fluffiness before we get back in and finish this thing up!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, ignore the typos. I'm predominately doing this fic on-the-go, so I'm using my iPhone X and iPad Pro to write it (Microsoft Word app). I don't always catch it right away when autocorrect gets me -- especially, if I'm on a roll while writing. lol. That said, I have to walk away for a little bit and come back to see if I catch anything (and, subsequently, fix it).

Mulder set their bags down just inside the door before closing and locking it. Neither one of them had said much during the flight back into Dulles. Rather, they sat there, each lost in their own thoughts. Scully had held onto his arm, resting her head against his shoulder, and with her other smaller hand in his larger one.

He felt bad for taking his frustration out on her. He’d told her as much. She’d said she felt the same from her end.

It didn’t seem to matter much, though. They were both scared. A faceless serial killer was targeting their family and they felt powerless to stop him. At least, that’s what Mulder was telling himself.

He’d wanted to use himself as bait, lure the killer out for Mike to capture him. Scully had seen right through that and put her foot down. It was stupid, he knew, but he was desperate.

What would happen if the killer decided to use her to get to him? Mulder knew damn well that he would give the man whatever he wanted if there was a chance it would keep Scully and their baby safe.

She must have known that, too, he decided. That was the only logical explanation for why she wouldn’t go along with that plan.

The sound of Scully rummaging in the kitchen got his attention and pulled him from his reverie. She let out a sigh and looked up, catching him as he watched her.

“We should’ve stopped at the store on the way home,” she grumbled.

“I can run out and get some things, if you’ll make me a list,” he offered softly. She shot him a hard look and then softened. He wouldn’t do anything stupid.

Honest.

With a sigh, she nodded. Mulder followed her into the living room, retrieving their bags from by the door and taking them to the bedroom.

When he returned, she handed him a piece of paper. It wasn’t a huge list, just enough on it to get them through for a few days. She was planning on going back to Vermont with him, he realized, but didn’t say it aloud. They just got home. Mulder didn’t have much of a fight in him right now and, judging by the exhausted look on her face, neither did she.

He placed his hands on her arms and rubbed them up and down.

“Hey,” he said softly, “why don’t you take a bath and relax while I run to the store? I’ll pick up a movie while I’m out and we can relax tonight.”

Scully looked like she was about to say something but changed her mind and nodded with a sigh.

“Good,” he said and pressed a lingering kiss to her lips.

* * *

When Scully got out of the tub and made her way into the living room, she found Mulder in the kitchen, standing over the stove. She leaned against the wall, watching him for a moment before making her to him and wrapping her arms around him from behind.

“Hey,” he greeted pleasantly. Her only response was to press a kiss to his back and rest her head against his firm frame. “You okay?” He asked and turned around to face her. Her grip on him loosened, but she didn’t remove her hands.

“I love you,” she said somberly. His eyes softened and he cupped her face, bringing it to his and pressed a gentle, lingering kiss to her lips.

“I love you, too,” he replied with a smile. He stared at her for a moment before turning back to his culinary not-so-masterpiece. “You hungry?” He asked.

“Mmm,” she replied, relinquishing her grip and moving to lean against the counter so that she was facing him. “Smells good.”

He grinned at that.

“I also happened to get some of that ice cream you like and some more peanut butter for the kid.”

She giggled and he smiled. It was nice to hear.

After dinner, they sat on the couch only half-watching the movie he’d picked up for them. Scully was cuddled into him, wrapped in a blanket, and he had his arm draped around her. He could tell she was starting to doze by the way she’d relaxed over the last several minutes.

“Scully?”

“Mm?”

“Let’s get married.”

“You already proposed, Mulder,” she replied sleepily and he couldn’t help but grin. “I already said ‘yes’.”

Mulder chuckled. “I am aware of that. I meant tomorrow.”

He felt her stiffen for a moment and then relax again like she was preparing a counterpoint or counterargument. Or, maybe, she was about to tell him that they needed to wait.

Mulder didn’t want to wait. They’d waited long enough.

“My mom would kill us if we didn’t let her be there. Frohike was pretty adamant about being there, too; the Gunmen might actually disown you.”

“So, we’ll call all of them tonight and tell them to meet us there.”

“Mulder,” she said, lifting her head to look at him, “it’s almost ten o’clock. My mom’s already in bed.”

He let out a sigh and paused before saying, “I’m willing to risk it, if you are.” Scully studied him for a moment before her lips twitched into a grin. She nodded and he smiled. “Really?”

“Mmhmm,” she replied and he smiled widely before pressing a kiss to her lips. “But, we’ll make phone calls in the morning.”

“Okay,” he sighed, feigning agitation. Scully giggles and nestled back into him.

When the movie ended, Scully was fast asleep against him, snoring softly. Part of him didn’t want to move. The other part of Mulder was acutely aware that his arm was going numb from her dead weight.

“Scully,” he said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. She didn’t budge. Mulder grinned. “Scully,” he said a little louder.

“Mm?” She asked without opening her eyes.

“Let’s go to bed.”

That did it. She glanced to the TV as the credits rolled and nodded.

Once they got into bed, Mulder rolled over and draped his arm around her waist. He pressed a kiss to the back of her neck.

“Hey, Scully?”

“Mm?” She asked. He could tell she was getting annoyed. A sleepy Scully was a grumpy Scully. Not that it ever deterred him.

“We’re getting married tomorrow.”

She rubbed his forearm and said, “Not if you don’t stop waking me up.”

Mulder laughed at that and pressed another kiss to the back of her neck before nuzzling in and allowing himself to doze.

* * *

Scully glanced up as she buttered her toast to see Mulder entering the kitchen and sporting a huge smile.

“Morning,” he said and placed a kiss on her cheek as he made his way to the coffee pot.

“Morning,” she replied with a smile of her own. “You’re in a good mood.”

He chuckled. “We’re getting married today.” He paused. “That’s still happening today, right?” Scully nodded as she took a bite of her breakfast. He smiled widely again and said, “Good! Good.” He slid into the chair across from her at the table and added, “Have you talked to your mom? Does she know what time to meet us there?”

Scully snorted. “Mulder, I woke up about twenty minutes ago. I barely made toast before you came in here. I’ll call her after I eat.”

He nodded and sipped his coffee.

“After we go to the courthouse —.”

“And, get married,” Mulder interjected. Scully arched an amused eyebrow. “Sorry. Continue.”

“After we go to the courthouse and _get married_ ,” she began with the addendum and a smirk, “we need to stop by the office and —.”

“No, no, no! I told you I’m not marrying you and then going to work. Whatever it is, it’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

Scully frowned. “We have to turn the paperwork into HR.”

“ _Tomorrow_ ,” he said firmly. “Today is about us. No going to work. No _thinking about_ work. No case anything. Today, we’ll get married, go look at a few houses and see if we like anything. This evening, I’m taking my gorgeous wife — because you’ll be my wife by then — out for a fancy dinner and then we’ll come home and make sweet love all night.” Scully giggled at that. “I’m not joking, Scully. Today is about _us_. Okay? Nothing else matters.”

“Unless, Mike calls,” she countered.

“I’ll kill him,” he deadpanned, causing her to laugh. “Be thinking about what you want to do for a honeymoon because once this case is over, we’re going.”

Scully grinned and shook her head. She was happy that he was so excited but, this morning, she was definitely feeling the loss of caffeine. She had a feeling that she’d need it to keep up with him.

She sipped her tea, thoughtfully. Maybe, one cup of regular coffee wouldn't hurt anything...

“What is it?” Mulder asked.

“Does it bother you that I’m keeping my name?”

“No,” he replied simply and then smirked, “as long as you don’t correct anyone when they call you Mrs. Mulder.” Scully smirked at that. “Seriously, though. No, it doesn’t. You’re stuck with me either way.”

“The baby will have your name,” she replied with a shrug.

“There’s that, too…”

They exchanged a smile before Scully headed toward the shower.

* * *

Mulder couldn’t keep the smile off of his face as he walked to the car with his _wife_. He, Fox Mulder, was a married man; a married man and soon-to-be father. If someone had told him a few years ago that it was possible for him to be this happy, he probably would’ve punched them for mocking him like that.

He glanced down to Scully. He’d noticed that morning that she’d started showing. You didn't have to look for the baby bump anymore; it was just there. Mulder found it completely and utterly gorgeous. She looked up at him and smiled.

In that moment, no force of Heaven, Hell, or Earth could keep his lips off of hers..

When they parted, she was smiling again.

“So, Mrs. Mulder,” he began taking her hand in his again, “shall we go find our new home?”

“I’d like to change first,” she said, amusement present in her voice. “If we’re spending a good chunk of the day actively house hunting, I’d rather wear something a little more comfortable.” Mulder only nodded. He couldn’t argue with that. He could change into something a little more comfortable, too. “And, I’d like to eat lunch sometime soon.” He didn’t have to look at her to hear the smirk in her voice.

“Sounds like a good plan,” he agreed.

They approached the vehicle and he opened her door for her, catching her by the waist before she got in the vehicle. She looked at him confused for a moment, but he leaned in for a kiss and Scully reciprocated.

“I love you,” he said, resting his forehead against hers.

“I love you, too,” she replied. They stayed that way for a moment and she said, “We’re going to have to go if you want to look at all the houses on your list.”

He chuckled and backed away, letting her get into the vehicle before closing her door and making his way around to the driver’s side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why, but I've always been able to see Mulder being the giddy one about them getting married. So, I wrote it that way.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, ignore typos. I’ll fix them when I’m at my computer. lol I’ve been writing & uploading from my iPhone X & my iPad Pro so autocorrect tends to get me.

He should have known that the peace wasn’t going to last. They’d had two days as Mr. and Mrs. Fox Mulder before Mike called to check in and they were back into Agents Mulder and Scully mode. Apparently, it would’ve been too much to ask for one more day to spend together as newlyweds before diving back into their routine.

Mike had faxed over files of personnel that had been present at more than one of the crime scenes and they had spent a good chunk of the day poring over them.

Mulder leaned back in his chair with a sigh.

“I don’t know, Scully,” he began. She looked up from the file in her hand. “I don’t think any of these people are our killer.”

Scully let out a sigh of her own. “So, you don’t think we’re looking for a cop?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “We’re missing something, I’m sure of that. I just can’t figure out what.” She grimaced and a bolt of concern shot through him. “What is it?”

“Heartburn,” Scully grumbled. “Remind me of that I get horrible heartburn the next time I say that Mexican is a good idea.”

For a moment, he could only blink at her in disbelief. Finally, it registered with his brain that everything was alright and he couldn’t but laugh. “Okay,” he chuckled.

“As for this case,” she continued, “maybe, the Gunmen can find something on one of these people. I don’t exactly like the idea of using them but, maybe, they’ll find something we’ve missed.”

Mulder thought it over before nodding in agreement.

“If you’ll talk to them, I’ll run their names and prints and see if anything turns up in our database.”

“You’re not going to find anything,” he sighed.

“Maybe, not. But, I’d feel better if we did this part _legally_.”

Mulder nodded. “Alright.”

“What is it?” Scully asked when he didn’t move.

“We’re going to have to go back to Vermont at some point.” She visibly tensed. “I don’t like it, either,” he added preemptively, “but, we don’t exactly have a choice.”

“Mulder, he’s targeting _you_. I don’t like you being bait.”

He huffed a humorless laugh. “I don’t either. But, it might be our only chance.” Scully sighed in response. “Hey,” he said softly, reaching across the desk and taking her hand in his. “We’re going to do it your way first. If that doesn’t work, we don’t have another option.”

* * *

Scully eyed her husband suspiciously. She really didn’t want to ask the question, but she knew him better than that. Needing to know, she braced herself for his response.

“Mulder, did you…” she heaved a sigh before continuing. “ Did you want to get married before the case ended because—.”

“No,” he interjected firmly. “I was tired of waiting.” He grinned. “I’m impatient.”

He wasn’t wrong about that. Scully wasn’t entirely convinced and he seemed to notice.

“Honey, I wanted to marry you a long time ago. Before we found out about the baby. I wanted to marry you while we were back in D.C. because we don’t know how long it’ll take to solve this case.” He shrugged sheepishly. “I didn’t want to wait. We were home so, I figured, why _not_ now?”

Scully still wasn’t quite sure if she bought it, but she sighed and nodded her concession on the subject.

He rose from his seat and took the stack.

“It’s after five. I’ll drop this off with the Gunmen and meet you at home.”

Scully glanced at the clock. He was right. She’d run names and prints tomorrow. The longer they were on this case, the less she liked it. And, she hadn’t been thrilled about it to begin with.

A profile. That was supposed to be the extent of their involvement. But, naturally, it couldn’t stay limited to that. That would be too easy, she thought.

Mulder was supposed to go to Vermont, look at some files, come up with a profile, and come home to her. Instead, he’d gone radio silent, retreating into the recesses of his brilliant—albeit frustrating—brain and she’d been sent to retrieve him. That was a few weeks ago.

Then, they’d gotten married. Scully had to force herself not to scoff at that particular fact. Despite his protest, she didn’t fully believe that they’d gotten married when they did simply because he was impatient.

She knew that he loved her. She loved him, too. They were supposed to get married, leave the X-Files, raise their child, and live happily ever after.

Scully had never been the type of woman to strive for that part of the American Dream. That wasn’t to say that she hadn’t pondered what being married and having a family would look like. She’d even done so where Mulder was the other part of that equation.

When the family part had been stolen from her, she thought about it more than she’d ever thought about it. Things weren’t playing out as she’d dreamt they’d might; not even a little bit. Scully wasn’t sure which was worse: that things weren’t playing out like she’d hoped when she found out about this baby and she and Mulder began to dream together or that he would willingly throw himself to the proverbial sharks out of some misguided notion of keeping her safe.

He didn’t need to do that. The killer didn’t want her. Or, their baby. The killer wanted _Mulder_.

Scully heaved a sigh and gathered her things before making her way to her car. She needed to clear her head.

* * *

She wasn’t sure how or why she’d ended up at her mother’s, but Scully found herself on her mother’s porch contemplating whether or not to knock on the door or just go home. Before she had a chance to make a decision, the door opened and her mother stood in the doorway, staring staring at her in surprise.

“Dana?” She glanced beyond Scully and met her gaze again. “Where’s Fox?”

“He, um, he’s meeting with some people,” Scully replied with an unsure tone. She fought back the tears stinging her eyes, but her mother saw right through her armor.

“Come here,” she said, pulling Scully into a tight hug. Scully, in turn, broke down into sobs. After what felt like several minutes, Maggie ushered her into the house and into the kitchen. Scully silently followed her mother’s guidance.

“Dana, what’s wrong? Is it the baby? Fox?” Her mother implored her.

“I can’t really talk about it,” Scully sighed. “It’s an on-going investigation.”

“Work?” Maggie asked in confusion. Scully met her mother’s gaze and saw the realization play across her face. “It _is_ Fox.”

The tears flowed again as Scully nodded. Goddamn these hormones. Goddamn her idiot husband. Goddamn this fucking case.

* * *

“Where’s the beautiful _Mrs._ Mulder?” Byers asked after Mulder had been there for awhile.

Mulder must have made a face because Frohike frowned less than a split-second after Byers asked his question. “Trouble in paradise already? You’ve been married for two days, bro.”

“It’s this case,” he sighed. “She’s not exactly thrilled with me right now.”

“That’s because you’re an asshole,” Frohike retorted, returning to his spot on the couch.

He scoffed.

“You are,” Langly added. “I still can’t figure out why she married you in the first place.”

Mulder gaped at his friend for a moment before finally asking, “How am I an asshole? I’m only—.”

“Dude, she’s your wife,” Frohike interjected. “Your _pregnant_ wife. She’s worried about you.”

“I’m trying to _protect_ her.” The boys snorted humorlessly, almost at the same time. “What?”

“Have you ever seen her when she’s worried and protective of you? She’s _terrifying_.”

Mulder glanced to the other Gunmen who only nodded their agreement.

“So, what am I supposed to do?”

“Fix it, dumbass,” Frohike retorted. Mulder frowned. “Hey, if it comes down to picking sides, we’re on hers. Of the two of you, she’s the scariest.”

Mulder heaved a sigh.

“Go home, Mulder,” Byers said. “We can take care of this. We’ll call you if we find anything.”

Mulder nodded and skulked his way to the door.

When he got back to Scully’s apartment, she wasn’t there. Part of him wondered if she’d gone to his place.

That was certainly one downside to being married and, technically, having two places. He called but only got his machine. He tried her cell but she didn’t answer.

Just as he was starting to panic, she walked in the door.

“What’s wrong?” Scully asked as though sensing the remnants of his anxiety.

“Nothing,” he breathed. “I just… I couldn’t reach you.”

“Oh… I was at my mom’s.”

He didn’t need to ask why. Mulder knew that Scully wouldn’t tell her anything about the case—it was on-going. Not to mention, Scully hated talking about work with her mother. Maggie Scully, God love her, could get a little overwhelming and overbearing about their job.

“You hungry?” He asked.

“No, I had dinner with Mom. I didn’t expect to be gone so long.” He only nodded. “Mulder…”

When she didn’t continue, he walked to her and pulled her to him. She sighed into his chest. They stood that way, silently, for several minutes before Scully pulled away.

“I’m going to be okay, Scully,” he said quietly, resting his head against hers, his hands in her waist. Her hands went around his abdomen, but she didn’t draw any closer to him and he didn’t pull her closer.

“What if you’re not?” She asked, hardly above a whisper. “What am I supposed to tell our child when he or she is old enough and starts asking questions about you? How am I supposed to raise this baby without you, Mulder?”

“You say…” he exhaled deeply before continuing. “You tell the baby that his or her daddy loves him or her more than anything, that I had to do this to keep him or her and his or her mommy safe.”

A tear slipped down Scully’s cheek. He wiped it away and kissed her gently on the lips before kneeling down in front of his child that was protected in her belly.

“You hear that, kid?” He asked. Mulder felt Scully’s fingers snake through this hair, her nails scratching gently at his scalp. “Daddy loves you and Mommy more than anything else in the world.” He pressed a kiss to her belly before resting his head against it.

He had no idea how long they’d stayed like that; he only rose when his knees started to hurt.

Scully pressed another kiss to his lips and softly said, “I’m exhausted. I’m going to bed.”

“Goodnight.”

“Night.”

With that she disappeared into the bedroom and he plopped down on the couch, resting his head in his hands.

The boys had been right: he’d been an asshole lately.


	16. Chapter 16

Mulder hung up the phone and heaved a sigh. Scully was going to kill him. That’s all there was to it. Whether at the hands of a serial killer or at the hands of his wife, Fox Mulder was a dead man.

“What is it?” Scully asked, entering their office. He hadn’t even heard her coming toward the door.

“I have to go back to Vermont.” Mulder watched as she visibly steeled herself. He hated it when she did that. “I just got off the phone with Mike.”

“Another victim?”

He shook his head. “No, we might have caught a break.”

She stared at him, silently imploring him to elaborate.

“Turns out that Andrea Jackson and Evan Conrad had the same new client. Both within a month of their deaths.”

“Does the client have any connection to the other victims?” She asked pointedly.

“That’s what we need to find out. It can’t be a coincidence that—.”

“Mulder, let Detective McMahon do it.”

“Scully, you know as well as I do that it’ll take twice as long, if he comes to a conclusion at all, if I don’t go to help. I need to look at the—.”

“He can fax you the files and new information. Just like he’s been doing all week.”

Mulder sighed. He knew exactly what she was doing. Under normal circumstances, it might’ve worked. But, he needed to do this. He needed to observe this new clients he was going to successfully solve this case.

After a moment, Scully sighed, too. He looked up, meeting her gaze. He could see it in her eyes that she knew this, too. Even if she didn’t like it.

Truth be told, he didn’t like it any more than she did.

“I need to see this guy, Scully,” he said, trying to avoid a fight. “I need to observe him, get a sense of him.”

“Mulder—.”

“This killer, whether it’s this guy or not, has defied too many things in the profiles that I’ve been able to come up with. If this client _is_ our killer…”

“If you question him and he is the killer, Mulder…” she heaved a sigh.

“I know. But, if it’s him and I don’t do this, how many more people are going to die because of it?”

Mulder watched what seemed like a thousand thought flash in Scully’s eyes before she sighed in defeat.

Check and mate.

“Fine, but I’m going with you.”

“Scully, no…”

“If you’re going, I’m going.”

Mulder knew that he shouldn’t have been surprised by her stance, but he sat completely stunned by the blunt nature of it. He half-expected to hear her add “period” to the end of her statement, but she just looked at him, arms crossed, with that look in her eye that could instill the fear of God into any man. He supposed that he could find a red eye. No… if he did that, he’d probably come home to find the locks changed and annulment papers awaiting his signature.

He sighed.

Checkmate.

He lost this round.

* * *

Scully looked up from her suitcase to find Mulder staring at her with a look on his face that she didn’t recognize. Whatever it was, she didn’t like it.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

He’d been apologizing a lot lately. Part of her wanted to tell him that if he’d stop acting like an idiot, he wouldn’t have to keep apologizing. But, she refrained. It wouldn’t be helpful right now.

“For what?” She asked instead, placing more items in her suitcase.

“This is _not_ how I saw our first week of marriage going,” he replied with a sigh.

The confession took her by surprise. She hadn’t exactly counted on it going like this, either. But, it had. That’s what they got for getting married in the middle of a serial killer case.

Scully met his gaze. Mulder had an intense look in his eye—the one she loved under different circumstances.

“Me, neither,” she sighed. She sat on the edge of the bed. “I just want to catch this asshole and come home.”

Mulder snorted. “That makes two of us, baby.” Scully frowned in response, but he didn’t apologize. Instead, he walked toward her. “When this is over, we’re going on a long honeymoon. Somewhere far away from D.C.”

“I like the sound of that.”

He grinned. “Me, too.” Mulder exhaled a breath before kneeling in front of her so that they were at eye level. “I really am sorry. It seems like we’ve been fighting a lot lately and I don’t like it. Especially, when we haven’t even been married a week.”

Scully chuffed a laugh. “Mulder, we fight all the time.”

“About work. We don’t fight about _us_.” He paused for several long seconds before continuing. “I don’t want you to think that I think you’re any less capable of doing this job. I know you are. I just…” he paused as though searching for the right verbiage to express whatever it was that was weighing on his brilliant mind. “You took me by surprise, Scully.” She didn’t exactly know how to respond that. He shook his head, but had a fond look on his face. It left her thoroughly confused. “When I met you, you were supposed to be the enemy, to take me down. Instead, the FBI handed me the love of my life on a silver platter.” She smiled but he grew serious again. “Somewhere along the way, my priorities shifted. My life went from being on the X-Files and searching for my sister to solving the _spooky_ mysteries with you. You became my partner and then my best friend and, at some point, I needed you the same way I need air and I can’t, for the life of me, explain that.”

“I think you’re doing a pretty good job,” she said, reaching out to cup his face. He placed a kiss to her palm before he continued.

“I guess my point is that I’m sorry if I’m acting like an asshole about it. I just want you safe.”

“You think I don’t want that, too?” She asked, making a point to keep her voice soft. “Mulder, when I met you, you were the most self-centered, arrogant, smug bastard that I had ever met.”

“Tell me how you really feel,” he retorted, causing her to chuckle.

“My point is that first night in Oregon, we stayed up half the night, just talking, and you told me about your sister and this quest of yours and I remember thinking how wrong about you I was.”

“I _wasn’t_ a smug, self-centered, bastard?”

“No, you were,” she replied, causing him to laugh. “But, you not in the way I thought.” Scully reached out with her free hand to run her fingers through his hair. “You’re kind, gentle, protective… but what I realized was that you were intensely loyal to someone you loved and you were going to do whatever it took to fix what happened or you were going fight until it was over.” She stared into his eyes for a moment, searching them for something she couldn’t explain. “I love that about you, Mulder. I just need you to realize that you don’t fight alone anymore and you haven’t for a long time.”

Mulder let out a sigh. “I know. I just don’t like that you have to fight, too.” He swallowed hard before continuing. “You know, I thought I knew what pure fear was like. The night Samantha was taken. It was indescribable. Pure, abject fear. Then, you were taken. It was a whole new kind of fear. I kept telling myself that when I got you back, I was never going to let anything happen to you again. And, then, you got cancer and that’s how I knew what torture felt like. I couldn’t do anything to make you feel better.” Tears pricked at Scully’s eyes as he continued, “ Then, we found a way to beat that… but, now you have a chip in your neck. One day, I’ll find a way around that, too.”

Scully studied him. The look in his eyes was enough to tell her that he wasn’t finished saying what he needed to say. So, instead of responding, she waited, letting him take his time.

After several seconds that felt like an eternity, he said, “When we were in Oregon and you were sick, I was scared to death. I kept thinking that… maybe, the cancer came back or that the chip was malfunctioning. I learned what pure panic felt like. I didn’t know what to do or how help. All I knew was that I needed to hold you. In retrospect, it was probably to reassure myself.” A small smile crept onto his face as he said, “Then, we were having a baby. Suddenly, that fear and panic was back.”

Scully must’ve made a face because he took her hands in his, kissed her knuckles, and said, “I don’t have a clue how to be a dad or a husband. My example wasn’t exactly a good one, but that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing. I want to make sure that you and our baby know that I love you. I don’t remember my father ever saying that to my mother, but our kid is going to hear that from me. Okay? Because my one concern is my family. It scares me to know that this guy might come after you to get to me. That’s why I don’t want you there. It has nothing to do with whether or not I think you can handle it—I know you can. _I_ can’t.”

Scully wiped the tears from her cheeks before kissing him hard until her body demanded oxygen.

When the kiss ended, she rested her forehead to his and said, “You have to stop comparing yourself to your father, Mulder. You’re not him. You’re a good man, a good husband. You’re going to be a good father. I know you don’t want to hear this but, Mulder, if you’re going to be a good husband for more than a couple of days and if you’re going to be a good father, you have to come home.”

“I know,” he replied quietly.

“Do you? Because you’re taking every risk this case throws at you. You’re a _target_. You _have_ to be careful. That’s why I’m going with you.”

This time, he was the one who initiated the kiss. Instead of the fervor and intensity she’d had when she’d kissed him, his kiss was languid, gentle.

When he pulled away, he said, “I love you. Please, don’t ever doubt that.”

“I don’t doubt it, Mulder,” she sighed. “Just don’t do anything stupid. Please. I don’t want to raise this baby alone.”

“You won’t,” he promised.

* * *

They’d spent the flight back to Vermont in near-silence. What little they did speak, they carefully avoided discussing the case. Oddly enough, it only seemed to add to her anxiety.

Mike was waiting for them as they exited the airport with that stupid smile on his face.

“Welcome back,” he greeted pleasantly. Before they could think to say anything, he pointed to Mulder’s wedding band and said, “Hey! Congratulations!”

“Thanks,” Mulder said sheepishly and placed his hand on the small of her back.

“How was the flight?” Scully must’ve made a face because he an awkward expression replaced his perpetually happy one. “That good, huh?”

Scully shrugged. “I hate flying.”

Mulder snorted and she shot a glare his way. He didn’t seem to notice as he continued, “Understatement of the century.”

The grin returned to Mike’s face. She had no idea why he was bugging the living hell out of her. Detective McMahon was good enough guy, pleasant and sweet.

It seemed like everything was getting on her nerves today. From the sound of the coffee pot that morning to the irritatingly perky stewardess to Mike’s annoying face.

It was probably stress mixed with her hormones, she reasoned silently. It didn’t make it any better.

God, she needed a nap.

* * *

After they’d checked into the motel and picked up the car Mike had waiting for them, Scully and Mulder made their way to the precinct. The drive was silent, except for the radio, as Mulder slowed the vehicle to a stop when the light changed from yellow to red.

He glanced to Scully in the passenger’s seat. She was staring out the window with one hand resting on her belly. She wasn’t exactly “big,” yet, but the baby had definitely made his or her presence known and undeniable.

Mulder couldn’t help but to wonder what his kid would grow up to be like. Would he or she like sports? Reading? Music? Would he or she draw or paint? Would this child look more like him or Scully?

Were they having a son or a daughter? Honestly, he didn’t have a preference as long as the baby was healthy. He wondered if Scully did. They hadn’t talked about it. 

“Mulder,” Scully said, jolting him back into the present.

“Hm?”

“Light’s green,” she deadpanned. Oh. Right. He accelerated and noticed her watching him out of the corner of his eye. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he replied. When she didn’t respond, he cast a glance at her. She had a look of disbelief on her face. “Really,” Mulder insisted. “I was just thinking about the baby.”

She glanced down at her belly, placing her hand on the growing bump.

“So,” he said after a moment. “Boy or girl?”

“I haven’t had the ultrasound, yet.”

Mulder chuckled. “What I meant was: do you have a preference?”

“No,” she replied softly, “Why, do you?”

“As long as the baby’s healthy, I don’t care one way or another.”

Mulder caught Scully’s small smile. Apparently, that was the right answer. He returned his gaze to the road, but his thoughts turned somber as he thought back to Scully’s words before they’d left.

He had to catch this guy using whatever means necessary. He needed to keep his wife safe, be there to help her raise their child. It was time to end this.


	17. Chapter 17

When Scully woke, she was alone in the crappy motel bed. God, she missed her own bed. At home. Where the most pressing concern they should be facing was which of the three houses they’d agreed to would be the one they called “home.”

But, they weren’t back there. They were in some shitty town in Vermont because her idiot husband got ordered to help out on a case they had no business being involved in. Sure, Mulder was a brilliant profiler—she was proud of him for that. Really, she was. She just couldn’t stand what it did to him, to the darkest places it took him; places darker than any X-File in their cabinet could take him.

That’s what scared her about this entire thing. Mulder, for his part, was terrified of something happening to her or the child growing inside of her. She knew that. She appreciated it, even. He’d brought it up over and over and over again. To the point that she was ready to smack him, even.

But, _he_ didn’t have anything worry about. This killer didn’t want her; he wanted Mulder. For whatever reason, she couldn’t seem to make him see that. There were times when she loved his stubborn streak, his innate tendency to stick to his guns when he thought he was right about something.

This was not one of those times.

“Mulder?” She called. No answer.

Scully heaved a sigh and dropped back to the pillow. She didn’t have the energy to go look for him. He was probably in the bathroom, anyway.

She glanced to the clock. It was _way_ to early to pick a fight with him and she was _way_ too tired.

Scully knew that Mulder was a bundle of anxious energy right now. If he wasn’t in the bathroom, he was probably burning off some of that energy.

Her eyes flew open at the thought.

Oh, hell no. He did not go running when there was a murderer after him. So help her, if he walked through that door, she just might kill him herself. Lucky for him, he emerged from the bathroom.

“Everything okay?” Her husband’s familiar voice asked. Scully heaved a sigh. “Scully?”

“I woke up and you were gone. I thought… I don’t know what I thought.”

The bed dipped as he climbed back into it. He scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her, spooning himself against her back.

“I just went to the bathroom,” he said softly as he splayed his fingers over the slight swell of her belly. Scully ran her fingers over his forearm. “I’m okay.” He dropped a kiss to her cheek.

“Just… just promise me that if you’re going to leave, you’ll tell me.”

Mulder pulled her more tightly to himself. “I promise,” he replied quietly, sleepily. He pressed his lips to her shoulder and held them there for a moment before saying, “I’m not going anywhere.”

It was ridiculous, really. She knew he was capable of handling himself. Well… _most_ of the time he was capable of handling himself. Scully tried to convince herself that it was just the hormones causing her random outbursts of panic and overwhelming emotion.

And, it very well could have been due to hormones. Yet, there was part of her that was genuinely terrified. For her husband. For their baby. For herself. She kept having dreams about raising the baby alone and she knew that she couldn’t do that.

“The next time we go back to D.C.,” she said firmly, “we’re staying. Whether this case is solved or not.” He didn’t reply and she rolled over to face him. He tucked her hair behind her ear wordlessly. “I mean it, Mulder.”

Mulder heaved a sigh. “I know. I agree.”

“I like the second house,” she blurted. “Well, I like all of them, but I think we should go with the second one. It has plenty of bedrooms, it has a bigger yard—.”

“Okay,” he replied.

“That’s it?”

He chuffed out a laugh. “You want there to be more?”

“No,” she sighed. “We just haven’t talked about it since we looked at houses.”

He smiled a gentle smile. “Whatever you want.”

Scully frowned. “Mulder, it’s your house, too.”

He grinned wider. “I know that.”

“And, you really don’t have an opinion?”

“Nope.” He pressed a kiss to her lips, gently and loving. “Scully, I really don’t care much about where we live. We could live in your apartment or mine—although, mine would be cramped. We could get the biggest house in D.C. If there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that home isn’t so much a place as it is the people you share it with. You’re my home. Whatever house you want is the one we’ll raise our kid in.”

Not knowing how else to respond, Scully kissed him languidly.

When the kiss broke, he said, “If you want the second house, I’ll call in the morning and make the offer. In the meantime, we have three hours before we have to get up.”

Scully chuffed a laugh before looking him in the eye despite the darkness. “I love you, Mulder.”

“I love you, too.”

Leaving it at that, Scully nestled into his chest and fell asleep breathing in his scent.

* * *

Mulder woke with a start, his heart pounding in his chest and panting for breath. He glanced over to find Scully sound asleep, facing him. She looked peaceful and _so_ beautiful. It was damn near heartbreaking.

He swallowed hard. It wasn’t the first time he’d had that dream since he found out that he was going to be father. It was always the same, save for the sex of the baby.

He’d come home to find the house vacant and dark, only the sound of the baby crying to guide him to the nursery. Mulder would arrive to find the baby alone and wailing in his—or, sometimes, her—crib. Scully was nowhere to be found.

Mulder would lift the baby into his arms and turn around to find some faceless horror telling him that his wife was being held captive and that the baby was going to be taken from him. He’d always hold the child closer, protectively, but it was just a blanket. The faceless horror would then walk away with the wailing child, leaving Mulder powerless and feeling like a twelve-year-old boy all over again.

Every time, Scully was always sound asleep beside him. Just like she was now.

The difference in this dream and how they usually were was that, this time, the faceless horror was the faceless killer and he’d gone home to the apartment to find Scully lying on a pool of blood in the nursery. The baby, which he’d known in his dreams had been born, was missing.

Scully shifted beside him and Mulder exhaled a heavy breath.

He glanced at the clock on the small table on the other side of his unconscious wife. The alarm wouldn’t go off for another hour.

He half-considered getting up and going for a run to clear his head but he’d made a promise and the finality in her voice when she told him not to leave without telling her was enough to know that it wouldn’t be worth the run.

But, Mulder had to do _something_.

With a sigh, he peeled off the blanket and made his way to the small table in the far corner of the room, silently hoping that the lamp wouldn’t be bright enough to wake her.

Lucky for him, it wasn’t.

He pulled opened the files sitting on the table and got to work.

* * *

“You’re sure about this,” Scully prompted for the millionth time since she’d gotten up.

“I _have_ to see him, Scully. I don’t have a choice.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall of the conference room. “If I don’t see him, I won’t know for sure.”

Scully heaved a sigh. It was the exasperated one she sighed when she knew that he was right and refused to say it aloud.

“It’s just a conversation,” he said gently. “We don’t even know for sure that this client is the killer.”

“But, you think he might be.”

Mulder chuffed a humorless laugh. “Scully, there are only three people here that I don’t suspect: you, me, and Mike.” He grinned and added, “Well, four, but I don’t think the baby could do something like this. He’s got too much of you in him.”

“So, we’re having a boy today?” She replied, amusement pleasant in her voice.

“At least, until lunch,” he retorted causing her to chuckle. He couldn’t keep the grin off his face.

Then, Mike had to go and ruin it.

“Hey, man,” the detective greeted. “He’s in interrogation whenever you’re ready.”

Mulder caught Scully stiffen out of his peripheral. With a sigh, he nodded.

“As I’ll ever be.”

Silently, they followed Mike to interrogation. Mulder cast one last glance to Scully before entering the small room with Mike at his side.

“Mr. Christman,” Mike greeted. “Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m Detective McMahon. This is Special Agent Mulder.”

Justin Christman was a lot younger than Mulder had expected, although still within the age range of both profiles. He couldn’t be older than twenty-five or twenty-six. He was well-dressed, too, wearing grey colored jeans, a dark red t-shirt underneath a black blazer. Mulder had no doubt that all of it was designer—and not from any line in a department store. He’d never had a fashion sense per se, but he knew privilege when he saw it.

Mulder could’ve been this kid if Samantha hadn’t been abducted.

Yeah, he could work with this.

“How do you know Evan Conrad?” Mike asked.

“I don’t.”

“You hired him.”

“I _met_ with him.”

“Why?” Mulder asked.

“My father knocked up the help.”

“He’s your brother,” Mike said, visibly stunned.

Rookie mistake.

“No,” Justin replied firmly. “He’s not.” He eyed Mulder and said, “You probably know what I’m talking about.”

Mulder couldn’t help but to quirk an eyebrow. “Sorry. I don’t.”

“Pfft. I recognize an Armani suit when I see one. You can’t tell me a government salary can pay for that.” He leaned forward on his elbows. “I know my people when I see them.”

“Your people,” Mulder repeated. This was going to take more self-control than he thought.

“Where’d you go to school? Harvard?” Justin asked with a hint of a challenge in his voice.

“Oxford.”

Justin nodded, clearly impressed. “Yeah… you know _exactly_ what I’m talking about.”

“So, you met Evan Conrad,” Mike interjected, bringing the conversation back to the point.

“Yeah, I met him. He’s a fuckin’ freak.”

“Why do you say that?” Mulder asked.

Justin scoffed. “He was all dodgy and shit. Wanted to meet in a fucking comic book store.”

“Did you?”

“Did I what?”

“Meet him in a comic book store?”

“Hell no I didn’t!” He eyed Mulder hard as though it was the most absurd thing he’d ever heard. “People like us don’t hang out with losers like that. I told him we’d go to lunch. We ended up going to some Mom and Pop pizza place.”

“What’d you talk about?” Mike asked, leaning back in his chair.

“A web site. I pretended to be interested in hiring him so I could see exactly what my father had been up to.”

“Why not just ask him?” Mulder asked.

“You know what it’s like,” he replied. “They don’t give a shit about us until they cut us off.”

“He cut you off?” Mike seemed surprised. “Why?”

The kid grinned. “Said I had a problem. I don’t.”

“A problem with what?” Mulder inquired. Although, he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

“What do you think?” Justin leaned back in his chair. “Anyway, it wasn’t like I was back on coke or anything. I went to rehab for that. It was just weed and it was _one_ time. Naturally, _that_ was the one time he chose to give a shit.”

“So, you met Evan Conrad to, what, blackmail your father?”

“I met the bastard brother to talk some sense into my father.” He heaved a sigh. “Anyway, it didn’t matter. He didn’t seem to care about Conrad any more than he gives a shit about me.”

“What about Andrea Jackson?” Mike asked.

“Ex-step-mother number two. The only person in my life who actually cares about me. She got me into rehab in the first place. She put me in contact with Conrad. I guess her company hired him for some work.”

“So, the two of you were close?”

Justin glanced between Mike and Mulder carefully before saying, “Yeah. We were.”

“How close?” Mike pressed.

“Nothing inappropriate, if that’s what you’re getting at,” he practically snarled.

Justin was protective. Okay. Mulder could work with that. He just had to figure out _how_ protective.

“No one’s suggesting that,” Mike replied defensively.

“Excuse me,” Mulder said, rising from his seat. He barely caught the confused look on Mike’s face, but chose to ignore it.

“What do you think?” Scully asked when he’d shut the door behind him.

“It’s not him,” he sighed in response.

“You’re sure?”

He nodded. He couldn’t explain it, but he knew.

“Okay,” she sighed. “Back to drawing board.”

“Maybe, not.”

She scrunched her face in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“He knows something. I don’t know what it is, but he knows something.”

“Mulder, we can’t keep him. If you try, you know as well as I do that’s he’ll lawyer up.”

Mulder pinched the bridge of his nose in response. She was right, of course.

“Kid’s got nothing,” Mike said, joining them.

“He’s got something,” Mulder countered.

“Blackmail, at best. But…” he heaved a sigh before continuing, “I doubt even that’ll hold up. I’ve seen his type before.”

“What type is that?” There was a defensiveness to Scully’s tone that made even Mulder bristle.

“Kid comes from money. A lot of it. Daddy’s lawyers’ll get him off. They always do. He’s got a rap sheet a mile long. Nothing sticks.”

There was a frustrated defeat about Mike that made Mulder anxious. He needed to get out of there. He needed to think and clear his head.

* * *

Scully watched, concerned, as Mulder walked right by them. She knew that look.

“Did I say something wrong?”

Scully couldn’t help but to glare in response. She wanted to mention the jab about people who came from money, but she submitted to the self-control vying for dominance in her mind.

“He’s stressed,” was all she could say.

Mike snorted. “We all are.”

Scully glared again and Mike backed down.

“I’m gonna take lunch,” he announced awkwardly. She watched as he walked away and heaved another sigh.

After a moment, she went to find her husband.


	18. Chapter 18

When Scully finally found him, he was sitting on a bench, staring out over the busy street.

“I’m sorry,” he said as she approached. Scully quirked an eyebrow in response as he looked up at her pathetically. “I just had to get out of there.”

She heaved a sigh and sat beside him.

“What am I missing?” He asked.

“I don’t know,” she replied. Scully wished she could give him his answers, but it felt like she was ten steps behind him on this one, struggling to catch up.

“I feel like the answer is painfully obvious and I’m not seeing it.” He exhaled a long breath. “It’s driving me crazy.”

Scully smirked. “You were already crazy,” she teased. He met her gaze and then nodded with a grin.

“I walked right into that,” he said, taking her hand and lacing her fingers with his own.

“Yes, you did,” she chuckled.

“You hungry? Or, rather, is the _kid_ craving anything in particular?” he teased in return. She fought a smirk.

“We’re fine right now,” Scully replied.

“You sure?”

“Yes.” He smiled. “What?”

“Nothing.” He paused. “I was just thinking about how much our lives are going to change in a few months.”

“Are you okay with that?” She asked cautiously. This conversation could devolve fast.

The look in his eyes, though, was enough to quell the rising fear in her. His eyes were soft, gentle, honest.

“Yeah, I’m okay with that.” He tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m looking forward to it, actually.”

Scully smiled at that. They were silent for a moment before he asked, “Are you sure you’re not hungry?”

“Yes,” she said, drawing out the word in exasperation.

Mulder only sighed his concession on the topic.

They sat in silence for what felt like several, long minutes.

Finally, Scully couldn’t take it anymore. “Do you really think he knows something?”

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “I think the answer is there—in what he knows, but I don’t think he has any association with the killer beyond his relation to Evan Conrad and Andrea Jackson.”

She studied him for a moment. If that’s all he thought it was, why was it getting to him like that? Was it the stress of everything else piled on to the case that seemed as elusive as anything in their cabinet? Or, was there something else—something that he wasn’t saying?

Honestly, she didn’t know which was worse.

Before she could ask, he announced, “I want to check out that pizza place he talked about.”

Scully felt her eyebrow arch. If she didn’t know him better, she’d chastise him for the random outburst. But, she only nodded in response.

“Then, you’ll have to ask him which one it is. For a town as small as this, I’ve seen more pizza places than I have anything else.”

Mulder chuckled at that.

“I want to check out the comic book store, too.” He faced her with a boyish grin on his face.

“I’m not buying anything for the baby,” she said, preemptively with a frown.

He smirked. “Who said it was for the baby?”

“You don’t need anything from a comic book store either,” she retorted but was unable to fight the grin that she felt forming on her face. He laughed at that.

“You’re no fun,” he teased.

“One of us has to be the responsible one.”

* * *

They entered the comic book store to stares from college-aged kids, the person behind the register, and a few people that looked a bit older than she was.

“This place is _awesome_!” Mike said slowly with a child-like wonder present in his voice. Scully could only roll her eyes. She would never understand the fascination grown men had with something that seemed so childish.

Teenagers, she could understand. Even the kids that looked like they were in college. That, she got. But, Mike and Mulder?

“I think they’re staring at you,” Mulder said quietly into her ear.

Mike must’ve overheard because added, “That’s probably because most of them haven’t been in the presence of a girl before.”

“Oh, God,” Scully groaned. “Can we get this over with? Please?”

“Can I help you with something?” The person behind the register asked walking toward them.

“Agent Mulder,” Mulder replied, flashing his credentials. “This is Agent Scully and the child by the Green Lantern statue is Detective McMahon. We were hoping to ask you a few questions.”

“Sure,” the kid shrugged. He crossed his arms. “I’m Nate.”

“Do you own this store?” She asked.

“Uh, no. That would be Jake, but he’s out of town. He’s, um, he’s out getting new merch. He’ll be back on Tuesday, though, if you’re wanting to talk to him.”

Jake… that would be a good name for a boy. Jacob Mulder.

Scully forced the thought from her mind. Now was not the time to be thinking about baby names.

“That probably won’t be necessary,” she replied as Mike joined them with a statue in his hand. She stared at him, fully aware of the disbelief showing on her face. Mike only shrugged.

“I love these games. I don’t have this one, yet.”

As though _that_ explanation made it better.

Mulder took out the picture of Evan Conrad and showed it to Nate. “Have you ever seen him before?”

Nate barely looked at it before meeting Mulder’s gaze with a notably skeptical one on his own face.

“Evan? He’s a regular. Comes in here a couple times a week. Why?”

“What do you know about him?” Mike asked.

“Not much. He’s a quiet dude. Kind of weird, but totally harmless. Good artist. Sold some of his work here. Good Magic player, too. Or, he was. I haven’t seen him at FNM in a while so I don’t know if he plays much anymore.”

“FNM?” She asked.

“Friday Night Magic,” Mike explained. “It’s a weekly tournament sanctioned shops put on for standard play players.”

“Sanctioned?” She blurted, not sure if she really wanted to know.

“Yeah. Wizards of the Coast has deemed the worthy of putting on the tournament, basically. That’s what the little sticker on the door meant.”

Even Mulder couldn’t hide the disbelief on his face. Mike only shrugged.

“Anyway,” Nate said, “what did he do?”

“He died,” Mike retorted.

Scully had half a mind to take the statue from his hand and hit him with it.

“Wait, what?” Nate said, genuinely surprised. Whatever Mulder had been hoping to find by coming here, something told her that this kid had nothing to do with it.

“Could we see some of his artwork?” Mulder asked.

Nate looked to Scully as though to ask if her partner was serious. He sighed and gestured for them to follow him.

He led them to a case with a few pieces of artwork in it.

“These four,” Nate said, noting two on the shelf and two on the middle shelf, “are Evan’s works.”

Scully wasn’t quite sure what she was looking at, but even she could admit that Nate wasn’t wrong when he’d said that Evan was a talented artist.

“I can’t believe he’s really dead,” Nate said quietly and with a sigh. “What happened?”

“He was murdered,” Mulder replied equally as quiet.

Nate paled. “What? Why-by who?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Mike said solemnly.

“It just doesn’t make sense,” Nate insisted. “He was a little odd, but he was nice person. He was writing his own comic. Did you know that?” Mulder shook his head. “These pieces are from it.”

They talked to Nate for several more minutes before leaving the store with practically no new information.

“Now what?” Mike sighed as they stepped out of the shop, clutching his newly purchased statue and art piece.

Mulder grinned. “Dust off those cards, Mikey.”

“Mulder?” Scully asked. Her husband’s grin didn’t fade.

“We’re going to FNM.”

Mike beamed. Scully could only groan.

She really hated this case.  



	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have officially finished school and can, once again, focus on fic (thank God!)!! Y’all have no idea how happy I am about both of those things!
> 
> Anyhow, enjoy!

Scully watched as Mulder pulled on the Batman t-shirt he’d picked up. He flashed a grin her way and she could only arch an eyebrow in response.

“You’re really going to this tournament?” She asked. “For a trading card game. For kids.”

He flashed a megawatt smile that rivaled Mike’s and said, “No, _we’re_ going to watch Mike play in this tournament.”

“Oh, there is no ‘we’ in this, Mulder. I’m not going to watch a trading card game.”

“Mike has assured me this is no mere child’s game, Scully.” She frowned and he continued, “He said these things get pretty intense. If our killer is one of the players, it could explain—.”

“That’s a pretty big ‘if’, Mulder. You have to realize that. Besides, it doesn’t explain _any_ of the other murders.”

“No, but if our killer is connected to Evan Conrad through the game, it would make sense that it’s where he found out about Andrea Jackson.”

“And, what about the rest of the victims?” She challenged. “There’s no discernible connection among any of them. You said that yourself.”

“True,” Mulder conceded. “But, it doesn’t mean we can’t go ask questions. Plus, who knows what kind of intel Mike can gather by playing.”

“In a Batman shirt, though?”

Mulder beamed. “Oh, I got you one, too.”

“I am not wearing a _Batman_ shirt.”

“Oh, come on. It’ll be fun.”

“I’m not wearing a Batman shirt,” Scully insisted.

“But, you’ll go?”

He looked like a child being told his parents might take him to Disneyland if he behaved himself.

“For a little while. If we don’t have anything in an hour, I’m coming back here and going to bed.”

He kissed briefly on the lips and scampered off to the bathroom, leaving Scully smirking.

She’d married a man-child.

* * *

Mulder watched intently, trying to figure out the inner workings of this game. Mike seemed to be doing well. At least, from what he could gather.

He glanced to his wife. She was bored and didn’t want to be there. Mulder didn’t need to be an expert in psychology or even married to her know it, though. Scully exuded it. Loud and clear.

Mulder couldn’t help but to chuckle every time someone went to hit on her. It probably made him a bad husband, he supposed, but he couldn’t help but to find it hilarious. He had to admit, though, that he was slightly disappointed she didn’t wear the Batman shirt.

When Mike won again, Mulder sighed and made his way to Scully.

“Can we leave now?” She asked with a child-like hope in her eyes. Mulder chuckled and she frowned.

“You promised me an hour,” he mock whined. “It’s only been thirty minutes.”

Scully checked her watch and clicked her tongue in exasperation when she realized that he was right. It only made him smile.

“If you want to go, I’ll take you back to the motel,” he said.

She sighed and shook her head in response. “No, I promised you an hour.” With a smirk, she added, “I just want it on record that I’m hating _every_ second of this.”

He laughed at that. “Noted.”

“Has Mike learned anything?”

Mulder sighed and shook his head. “No, but it’s only been half an hour. We still have a long night ahead of us.”

Scully nodded in response. Mulder studied her. She looked tired.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to take you back? I really don’t mind.”

“I’m fine,” she sighed. “Just feed me and I’ll survive.”

He bit back a retort about _everyone_ surviving if they eat and, instead, went to grab a slice of pizza.

“Hey!” A voice said. Mulder looked up to see a scrawny, college-aged kid looking at him with wide-eyed wonder. “You’re that FBI guy that’s in town.”

“Excuse me?”

“Yeah!”

“I think you have me confused with someone else.”

“It’s a small town,” the kid deadpanned. “Everyone knows everyone and you’re not from here.”

Busted.

“No,” Mulder insisted. “My wife and I are here visiting a friend.”

“Detective Dimwit?” The kid’s narrowed. “ _That’s_ the best you’ve got?” He shook his head with a sigh and said, “Duuuude.”

“Sorry to disappoint you. We really are here visiting a friend. Not FBI.”

“The FBI doesn’t train you guys very well,” Mulder frowned. “Austin Randall. You can call me Aussie. Everyone else does. Your giveaway is that you’re anxious. You did that little stutter thing and your eyes got shifty. Now, normally, that could mean nothing; just that you were confused and taken aback, but _then_ you got arrogant. Committed to it. Your tell, though, was the way you kept glancing back at the pregnant lady over there. The one who looks like she doesn’t want to be here.”

Mulder chuffed. “Excuse me?”

Aussie shrugged. “When you get bullied, you learn to read people pretty well.” He grabbed a slice of pepperoni as Mulder dumbly stared at him. “So, you here about those murders?”

“I think you’ve got the wrong guy. Sorry.”

“I don’t, but props to you for sticking with you story.”

Mulder held up the plates in his hand and said, “I gotta feed my wife.”

“Nice talkin’ to ya,” Aussie called back with a smirk. “Hit me up if you have any questions.” There was an arrogant sing-song to his statement that got under Mulder’s skin a bit.

“What’s wrong?” Scully asked as he approached.

Mulder had known that Scully had started showing just a bit. They’d been on this case for a few weeks now and the baby was growing. It happened. But, part of him liked the idea that only those who knew could tell.

“Nothing,” he replied, handing her the plate and a forced smile. She frowned. “Just that kid over there.” He lowered his voice and said, “He knows I’m FBI.”

“How?”

“He said that it’s a small town and I’m not from here.”

“What’d you tell him?”

“That my wife and I are visiting a friend. Although, in retrospect, I shouldn’t have mentioned that we’re married.”

Scully studied him. He didn’t like that look in her eyes. It was a look that said she was about to pull the plug.


	20. Chapter 20

Scully studied Mulder. It really wasn’t as bad as he thought it was. Right? A married couple, from out of town, visiting a friend is a perfectly logical cover. Except, in this case, they really were a married couple from out of town.

And, if this kid only figured out that Mulder was FBI, their cover was intact and they didn’t have anything to worry about.

Right?

Mulder sighed and said, “I don’t know, Scully.”

She realized, then, that she must’ve said the last part aloud. Scully heaved a sigh.

Before she had a chance to say anything else, Mike was interrupting them with an idiot grin on his face. “You guys havin’ fun? Whoa. What?”

“What do you know about Austin Randall?” Mulder asked quietly.

“Aussie? He’s a good kid. Observant as hell. Smart as a whip. Good kid, though.” They must not have looked convinced because he continued, “Parents were killed in a car accident when he was ten. He lives with his aunt and uncle. Ben—uh, his uncle—is the local doctor. Well, to most people, anyway. Myself included.”

“He knew I was FBI,” Mulder replied.

Mike chuckled. “I’m not surprised. Like I said, the kid is observant as hell. He used to get picked on. When his folks died, he moved here from a Colorado. His dad was only child and Ben was his mom’s only sibling.”

“Does he have siblings?” Scully asked.

“Two sisters. One older; one younger.”

“They both live here?” Mulder asked as though sensing her line of questioning.

“You’re not suggesting that Aussie has anything to do with the murders, are you? Because, that’s absurd.”

“You’re sure about that?” Scully clarified.

“Absolutely. Besides, he wasn’t even in town for two of the murders. He studies at the university and lives in the dorms.” Mike faced Mulder with a smirk and added, “Psych major. You’d like him if you talked to him.”

“I’ll do that.”

Scully shifted. She hated that tone in her husband’s voice. To anyone else, it said: “challenge accepted” but, to her trained ear, it said: “I’m going to do just that.” God, she hoped Mike was right.

“You okay?” Mulder asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. She met his gaze. “You need to go? Lie down?”

For as much as she didn’t want to admit it, it was exactly what she needed. With a sigh, she nodded.

“I’m gonna take her back to the motel. I’ll be back, Mikey.”

“No problem. I have another match. I’ll see if I can find out anything while you’re gone.”

* * *

Mulder walked Scully to the car, his hand on the small of her back the entire way.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“I’m fine,” she sighed in return. He studied her but said nothing. “What, Mulder?”

“You sure? You look a little pale.” He smirked and added, “Even for you.” She frowned and he chuckled. “I just want to be sure that you’re okay—that you’re _both_ okay.”

Instinctively, her hand went to the small swell of her belly and she said, “we’re fine.”

“Okay,” he conceded. Mulder opened the passenger door for her and shut it when she got in the vehicle before heading to the driver’s side.

“Do you think Mike’s right about that kid?” Scully asked once he’d gotten the car started.

Mulder sighed. “I hope so.”

“He doesn’t fit either profile,” she said.

“I won’t know that for sure until I talk to him.”

“He’s pretty small.”

Mulder bit back a grin. “You want Mike to be right, don’t you?”

Scully sighed. “He’s just a kid, Mulder.”

“It was his tone, Scully. It set me on-edge. I don’t like that.” He exhaled a sigh and put the car in gear. “For the record, I don’t want him to be right, either. But, the sooner I rule him out, the sooner we find who _is_ behind all of this, the sooner we go home and move on with our lives.”

Scully hesitated a moment before asking, “You’re still planning to walk away from the X-Files?”

“The X-Files, the FBI.” He glanced at her and grinned. “In a few months, we’re gonna have a kid. That’s a little more important.” From his peripheral, he saw her nod in response. “Are you still okay with walking away? It’s alright if you’re not.”

“No, I am. It’s just… weird to think about. It’s been part of our lives for so long…”

He took her hand in his and pressed a kiss to her knuckles before saying, “Believe me, I know.”

“How are you so okay with this?” She asked. Mulder couldn’t help but to grin. “The X-Files are your life’s work.”

“ _Were_ my life’s work,” he corrected, still grinning but keeping his eyes on the road. “And, I don’t have an honest answer for that. Somewhere along the way, my priorities shifted. I’m not saying that not investigating the paranormal every day won’t get boring. I just…” he pursed his lips together, taking a moment to get the words right. “Ever since we got together, I kept waiting for it to end. I kept waiting for you to wise up and realize that you could do better than me and—.”

“Mulder,” Scully sighed, although he couldn’t quite decipher that tone.

“No, it’s true. Think about everything that we’ve been through since you met me; things you never would’ve gone through if you hadn’t.”

“I have thought about those things, Mulder,” she said in a tone that demanded his attention. Lucky for them, he was pulling into the motel parking lot. “I’ve thought about them a lot but I wouldn’t change any of it.” He put the car in park and looked at her. “It got me here, didn’t it?” There was a twinkle in her eye that he couldn’t ignore. She really meant it.

Mulder studied his wife for a moment. His _wife_. She was right, he supposed. Everything they’d been through had led them to this: a marriage. A child. An entirely new life—a _better_ life. He’d found his sister; accomplished his life’s goal. They were walking away from the X-Files.

He may not be able wrap his head around the fact that she had no regrets—he certainly had plenty of them for her but, overall, Fox Mulder had everything that he could possibly want; things he never knew he wanted until he had them.

Mulder was more determined than ever to solve this case and go home. They’d been at it for weeks now. The back and forth was exhausting. Scully was pregnant. They had a house to buy and two apartments to pack up.

He _needed_ to finish this. If not for himself and this town, then for his family.

“Where’s that head of yours?” Scully asked, brining him back to the vehicle.

Mulder let out a heavy breath. “I’m just ready to go home,” he confessed. “I’m ready to sleep in our own bed.”

Scully nodded in agreement. They sat silently for a moment.

“You should get back to Mike,” she said, finally. Mulder swallowed and nodded as Scully continued, “I’m going to take a shower and go to bed.”

“Okay,” he sighed in return. “Hopefully, this won’t take too much longer.”

“I’ll probably be asleep by the time you get back,” she replied before leaning in and pressing a gentle kiss to his lips.

“Love you,” Mulder said.

“Love you, too,” she replied and kissed him again before opening the vehicle door. “Night.”

“Night.”

Mulder sat in the car, watching through the windshield as Scully entered their room and shut the door behind her. 


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! What do you know? It’s an update! Ignore any typos. I’ve been up all night and I wrote this on my iPad Pro. I’m sure autocorrect got me in a few places I didn’t catch when I went back over the chapter to edit it.

Scully shut the door behind her and heaved a tired sigh before flicking on the light and making her way toward the bathroom. She contemplated taking a bath; a nice, hot bath with the book she’d purchased on lunch. It was the fatigue that won out, though, and she opted for a hot shower instead.

When she got out, she slid into bed. The cool of the sheets was a stark contrast to the heat from the water. The second she flicked off the lamp on the nightstand, she expected to fall asleep; that, however, didn’t appear to be the case.

She laid in the dark, in silence, for what felt like an eternity before she flicked on the lamp and made her way to the small table in the corner of the room. If she wasn’t going to be able to sleep, then hopefully she could make some headway on the case.

* * *

Mulder would never tell Scully that he’d watched the door of the motel for several minutes before leaving. She’d roll her eyes at him. Not in that adorably annoyed way she did when he said something she found particularly stupid, but in the way that made him wonder if she was actually mad at him. He hated that feeling. 

He thought about several things during the short trip from dropping off his wife to the comic book store. He thought about his marriage, about how this wasn’t in any way how he’d thought it would look when they finally got married. He thought about his child and wondered if the little boy or girl growing in Scully’s womb would be interested in games like the one he was desperately trying to understand for the case. He thought about life without the X-Files.

Mulder had convinced Scully that he could walk away from it, that he was ready to walk away from it. In a lot of ways, he was. He looked forward to the day when his wife was no longer in danger because of his reckless pursuits. He looked forward to raising his child with her. In other ways, though, he wasn’t entirely sure that he was ready to stop looking for the answers to questions he still had.

He wondered if the things from which they were choosing to extract themselves would catch up with them eventually. Would they be ready? What about when the baby was born? Would they be able to keep their child safe from the monsters—the _real_ monsters? 

Mulder heaved a sigh as he pulled into a parking spot close to the door of the comic book shop. He would have to find a way to reconcile those things, he supposed. His family needed him to do that. On some level, he knew, _he_ needed himself to do that. 

Maybe, he could go looking on his own once in awhile, he pondered. No, Scully would put her foot down on that and, if he did it anyway, kill him when he got home. Or worse. She might leave him.

He couldn’t risk that. He needed her too badly. 

Mulder rested his head against the steering wheel. Maybe, he really _was_ ready to walk away, but this case, all the danger that it represented, was what was causing him to freak out. All he knew for certain is that, if he couldn’t be at home, he would have much rather have been back at the motel with Scully, watching TV, munching on take out, and falling asleep beside her. 

He forced those thoughts from his mind and mentally scolded himself. He had a job to do.

It had never been this difficult before; doing his job. Maybe, this was why the FBI frowned on partners becoming romantically involved. If that was the case, why then did they have Married Agent Couples?

Maybe, those couples were better at this than he was, he told himself bitterly. Maybe, he’d look into one of those couples when they got back to D.C. and would pick their brains.

Maybe, there was a way to do both. There had to be.

He wasn’t aware he’d gotten out of the rental car until Mike was walking toward him with a plate of pizza in his hand.

“You get her back okay?” Mike asked before taking an impressively large bite from one of the slices on his plate.

“Yeah,” Mulder replied. Mike frowned. “What?”

“You look… I don’t know,” he said through the food in his trap.

“I’m just tired,” Mulder sighed in response.

“And, you want to be with your wife.” Mike grinned a knowing grin. Mulder frowned in response. “What? There’s nothing wrong with that. You’re a newly wed. You’re supposed to be at some fancy, beachfront hotel, holed up in your room and—.”

“I’m gonna stop you right there,” he interjected. “Find anything while I was gone?”

“Just that the dude in the Nirvana t-shirt plays a hell of an aggro deck.”

Mulder blinked only blinked in response.

“An aggro deck,” Mike repeated as though that would make Mulder understand what the hell he was talking about. “An aggressive deck? Hard hitters, small monsters? Quick game?”

“Mike, I didn’t know what the hell you were talking about when you tried to explain the game to me as a beginner, I sure as hell don’t understand the inner-workings of deck-building.”

Mike nodded as he chewed on another bite of his pizza. 

“Right,” he replied after swallowing his food. “As it relates to our case, I haven’t learned anything so far. But, fear not! The night is still young.”

“You watch way too much TV,” Mulder deadpanned in a way that would’ve made Scully proud. 

Mike shrugged. “I won my last match. I don’t play again for a little bit. I’m just gonna—.”

“Hey, that Austin kid—.”

“Aussie.”

“Aussie,” Mulder corrected, lowering his voice as he added, “He made me as FBI. I don’t think he made Scully, though.”

“You mentioned that earlier. If you recall, I told you he was observant as hell.” Mulder must’ve made a face because Mike straightened up. “Want me to talk to him? I’ve known the kid since he moved here. He might—.”

“No, I’ll do it.” Mulder caught the look on Mike’s face. “What?”

“Is he a suspect?”

“Mike, as far as I’m concerned, everyone but you, me, and Agent Scully are suspects.” He exhaled a breath. “Go play your game.”

Mike smirked, but scampered off like the man-child that he was, leaving Mulder to see what he could find out on his own.

* * *

Scully stared at the files in front of her. Nothing made sense. The more she looked into it, however, the more she thought that Mike had been right and that there was a religious theme present.

She was convinced that their assessment of the seven deadly sins playing a key factor into this case was correct—even if her husband didn’t seem as convinced as she was. For a man who would believe in anything, his lack of believe in God always astounded her.

She’d never asked him about it, though. Part of her wondered if she ever would. Scully thought about their baby and instinctive pressed a hand to her ever growing belly. She would have to have that conversation with him at some point in the near future, she supposed. Her mother had been pressing her about the baby being raised in the Catholic faith and, if she was being honest with herself, it did somewhat matter to her. She doubted that Mulder would mind, but still. It was something they would need to discuss.

  
With a sigh, she replaced the loose papers in the file and shut the folder. Mulder and Detective McMahon were working on it right now. However playing that stupid game was “working” on it. Scully smirked in spite of herself.

_Boys will be boys._

She rose from her seat and made her way back to the bed, resigned to call it a night. A quick glance to the alarm showed a glaring, red 12:41 AM. There was no way in hell she was going to stay up all night and wait for Mulder to come back and tell her all about the game, even if they managed to learn something useful; which, she sincerely doubted they would.

Scully clicked off the lamp and laid in the dark.

* * *

“So,” a voice said from beside Mulder as he took a sip from his Coke. He turned to find that Austin “Aussie” Randall was standing beside him, leaning back against the counter. Not only was the kid “observant as hell,” as Mike had put it, but he was stealthy as hell, too.

“So?”

Aussie smirked. “You gonna admit you’re FBI, yet, or are you sticking to your story?” Mulder must’ve made a face because the kid laughed. “Relax, copper; I’m not gonna blab. I think it’s dope.”

“Dope?”

“Cool. Awesome. On fleek.”

“Fleek?”

Aussie laughed. “Man, don’t they teach you to stay hip to the lingo in FBI school?” 

“I’m not—,” Mulder started to protest only to be cut off.

“Well, that answers that question.” Aussie took a sip of the Mountain Dew in his hand. “Your buddy’s gonna get his ass kicked.”

“Excuse me?”

The kid nodded to the table at which Mike was starting to sit. “His opponent, Jimmy, he’s playing red-green. Mikey’s playing white-blue, which is the only thing keeping him in at this point; lots of countering in his deck. But, on the other hand, Jimmy’s won the last four FNMs.” He took another drink before Mulder could even form a response and continued, “I heard he got invited to play in the Grand Prix with Justin Christman.”  
Mulder whipped around to face Aussie. “You know Justin Christman?”

Aussie smirked. “I knew I was right about you. I don’t know him personally, but from what I’ve seen, the dude’s a dick. Thinks that just because his daddy’s rich means he treat everyone like shit. Especially, Evan.”

“Evan Conrad?”

“You know him?”

“No,” Mulder replied. Aussie stared at Mulder thoughtfully for a moment, like he was debating whether or not to share whatever it was he was thinking. At the moment, Mulder wasn’t above begging.

“Well, Evan was a good dude.”

“Was?” Mulder asked, hoping to keep the kid on the subject of the latest victim.

“He died. Murder is the rumor. Figured that’s why you’re here.”

“Sorry to disappoint. Like I said, my wife and I are just visiting a friend.”

“Okay,” Aussie said in a tone that indicated he was over and annoyed with Mulder’s cover story. “Let’s get a couple things straight. I’m not an idiot and I don’t particularly enjoy having my intelligence belittled. Two, I can actually help you if you’ll let me. I know a lot about this town and the assholes who live here. Okay? So, stop be a douche and work with me here.”

Mulder thought for a moment before heaving a sigh and nodding.

“Thank you,” Aussie said before returning his gaze to the patrons sitting at fold up tables, multicolored cards in their hands.

“I’m not here investigating Evan Conrad. I’m working with local police on a series of murders.” Aussie scoffed derisively. “Believe it or not, kid, the FBI doesn’t get involved in every homicide in the country. We help out when local PD needs it. I’m just here lending my expertise, not leading the investigation.”

“They gave it to Detective Dumbass? That was a mistake.”

“Hey,” Mulder snapped at the blatant disrespect the kid clearly harbored toward law enforcement. “Watch it.”

“Look, Mikey’s a good dude, I’ll give you that. But, he’s not that great at his job, okay? He was better at writing speeding tickets.”

There was something about Aussie’s tone that caught Mulder’s attention. It almost sounded…rueful?

“What do you know, Austin? What aren’t you telling me?” 

Aussie sipped his drink. “That’s a conversation for another day. Your boy’s out.”

With that, he walked away, leaving Mulder puzzled as Mike approached.

“Sorry, man. I’m out of the tournament,” Mike sighed. “Bastard got me with a—.”

“Mike!” Mulder snapped.

“Right. You don’t play.”

“Did you learn anything?”

“No,” Mike sighed in return. “You?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“I’m gonna head back to the motel. See ya in the morning,” Mulder said and was out the door before Mike could respond.

  
When he got back to the motel, he noticed the windows were black behind the still shut curtains. Scully’s was sleeping, he assumed. He was glad. She’d been going at it harder than necessary. The stress couldn’t have been good for her or the baby.

Mulder smirked to himself. She’d tear him apart if she knew what he was thinking. 

Quietly, he entered the room and shut the door behind him. He was barely able to make out his wife’s sleeping form on the bed. Her soft snores were all that gave away just how deeply asleep she was. He stood by the closed door and shut his eyes, listening to Scully for just a moment; taking in the sound of a semi-normal state. 

Were they at home, he probably would have found her passed out on the couch, with a book somewhere nearby. Or, if she’d gone to bed, he would’ve been able to see her peaceful, beautiful face illuminated briefly from the light in the hallway. 

But, they weren’t home. They were hundreds of miles away, in fact. It was a cold realization when it struck him. He let out a sigh and stripped to his boxers before using the restroom and sliding beside Scully on the bed.

He slid close enough to spoon himself against her back, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek before resting his head on her pillow and breathing in the scent of her shampoo.

“M’ld’r?” She slurred sleepily.

“Yeah, I’m back,” he whispered in response. “Go back to sleep.” 

“D’ya find out an’thi’ng?”

He couldn’t help but to grin. He adored Sleepy Scully. Briefly, he wondered if their kid would inherit that adorable aspect of his or her mother.

“I’ll tell you about it the morning,” he replied softly, rubbing his hand gently over her baby bump. “Go back to sleep.”

“Mm’kay,” she replied. Truth be told, he wasn’t entire sure she’d truly woken up. “Love you.”

“I love you, too, babe,” he replied. Her breathing evened out again almost instantly, leaving him to mull over his conversation with Austin Randall before he finally drifted to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shameless self-promotion time!
> 
> Twitter: @rationalcashew  
> Tumblr: @rationalcashew  
> Instagram: @rationalcashew  
> Twitch: Twitch.tv/rationalcashew (come watch TXF with us, live-streamed here at 8:30 PM U.S. Central time every Friday!)


End file.
